


Captcha

by pink_mango



Series: Captcha [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Androids, Bottom Lee Taeyong, Falling In Love, Light Angst, M/M, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Prostitution, Sex Club, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Suh Youngho | Johnny is Whipped, Top Suh Youngho | Johnny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:40:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27745363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pink_mango/pseuds/pink_mango
Summary: Every time Johnny steps foot inside club Nova, he gives a piece of his heart to Taeyong. Does Taeyong take a piece of his too?
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Series: Captcha [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2029594
Comments: 65
Kudos: 182





	Captcha

**Author's Note:**

> This came to me out of nowhere, and I started writing and writing and couldn’t stop. I genuinely had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it. 

“It’s not weird, man. Everyone is doing it! They might not talk about it per say, but they _are_ doing it.”

“I don’t know,” Johnny hesitates. “I still think it’s a little weird.” 

“It’s not weird at all. Trust me!” Yuta takes a sip of his coke and brushes the crumbs of his sandwich from the corner of his mouth. “I’ve done it a couple of times and let me tell you, it’s amazing. Every time; it’s amazing!”

Johnny’s always known his best friend to be adventurous, but this reveal about his extracurricular activities takes him by surprise. He hadn’t expected his off-handed comment about being bored and single to lead to Yuta going into detail about his recent sexual escapades spent with androids.

It’s been three years since the first life-like human android had passed the Turing test, the test determining whether or not a machine’s behavior is indistinguishable from a human. 

And _nothing_ about life had been the same ever since. 

Families had gone from having Alexas and Google Homes simply making grocery lists and ordering pizzas for them to having humanoid machines take on those tasks for them. Humanoid machines that _live in their homes and take care of their children_.

First introduced by one of the world’s largest corporations, _ViraNet_ , the androids of today are virtually undetectable from real humans, blending in seamlessly and billed as perfect in every way.

At first, androids had been employed to help with advertising, assist with scientific research, and even provide a stable set of hands during surgery. But then suddenly, androids began to pop up in other aspects of their lives. From flight attendants to fast food workers, they could be found virtually anywhere. 

They’re so realistic though, you wouldn’t even know. That’s the entire point. 

And naturally, as the world had adjusted to this new coexistence with artificial intelligence, It didn’t take long before android software developers and manufacturers began to create models specifically for human pleasure and sexual gratification. It should have been inevitable to anyone with a brain who’d spent a moment on the internet since its existence, that eventually everything circles back to sex. New York City, _ViraNet’s_ corporate headquarters, quickly opened its first club dedicated to _experiencing_ these androids. And to nobody’s surprise, it had been so successful that other major cities across the globe followed suit, ready to cash in on the concept. Within the past year alone, Johnny’s native Chicago had opened up it’s very first android sex club, three more cropping up to compete in other neighborhoods. 

Yuta finishes his sandwich, balling up the wrapper and turning back to Johnny. “I’m just saying. You’re single and you should give it a try. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you’re just looking for some fun.”

Johnny looks out the glass window of his office’s break room from the forty-second floor and can’t believe this is a conversation he’s having right now. He hopes nobody else can hear them, feeling suddenly comforted by the loud smacking of a ping pong ball back and forth where his other teammates are screwing around nearby. 

“Well, I think I’m finished with lunch.” He doesn’t acknowledge Yuta’s suggestion. “We should get back to work.”

Yuta shrugs. “Just let me know if you need any recommendations.”

Johnny tosses his empty water bottle into the recycling bin and turns back to Yuta, foot nudged into the door as he looks right into the other’s eyes. “Don’t worry, that will never, ever happen.”

Johnny later leaves work that evening feeling satisfied with his inbox at zero emails. He hops on the train and heads to the gym near his apartment, works out until his body is too tired to go any further, and then heads home. After a hot shower and takeout from one of his favorite restaurants down the street, he settles into bed for the night, prepared to do his same weekday routine all over again for the next four days. 

He finds that he can’t quite pay attention to the show he’s watching on Netflix when his mind wanders back to the conversation he’d had with Yuta over lunch. 

How ridiculous- the idea of having sex with androids- no, _robots_. The creatures that used to scare him as a child from his favorite television shows. Can’t Yuta just watch porn or meet women through a dating app like everyone else? 

Johnny turns the lights out after he realizes he’s spaced out and missed about the last twenty minutes of his show. He tries to force himself to go to sleep, but finds it difficult. Not even his workout session seems to have done the trick, and he tosses and turns for what feels like an eternity between his sheets. It goes on until about 1 AM before Johnny decides that maybe it’d help if just rubs one out quickly. It’s been awhile after all, which is what had originally prompted his lunchtime conversation. 

He hastily pushes his hand under the fabric of his boxers and begins to tug at his cock, but only manages to get himself about half hard on his own.

Groaning, Johnny knows he’s getting nowhere without any extra stimulation, so he whips out his iPad and unlocks it quickly with his free hand. He flips to one of his private bookmarks, cock jolting the second he hears the soft whining of the pretty young man on the screen. He tugs more furiously, pre-come leaking out and helping the slide of his hand against his cock that’s quickly growing harder. He focuses on the video and his breath hitches when the camera angle shifts to show a larger man on top sliding inside of the pretty one, the noises of their skin slapping together and moans enough to make him fist his cock faster. 

He feels his impending orgasm approach and tosses the iPad on the other side of the bed, doesn’t need the aid of it anymore. About a second later of thumbing his slit and he’s coming over his stomach, a blip of instant satisfaction washing over him. From the empty side of his bed, he hears the continuous and compounding moaning from the same video he’d been watching, realizing that he had forgotten to exit out of the tab. Johnny quickly closes his browser and places the iPad gently on the floor this time, feeling still deeply unsatisfied and restless somehow.

* * *

Johnny doesn’t think too much about how his sleeping patterns are revolving around his masturbation schedule these days, until he finds himself in the same compromising position the next night.

And the night after that.

And the night after that too. This time though, he blames on having been subjected to watching his coworker kiss her husband with a copious amount of tongue at her after work birthday celebration. He’s ashamed to admit it- because not only is being turned on from a kiss insane at the age of thirty-two, but even worse because it’s his coworker. He tries to compromise with his brain that it was still kinda hot and he’s been feeling needier than usual ever since Monday.

Having been single for so long and with sex damn near constantly on the brain these days, he’s almost desperate enough to reactivate his tinder profile. Not quite _that_ desperate just yet though.

Friday rolls around, another week slogging away at corporate life, and Johnny’s at home for the night ordering in food yet again. While waiting, he plays a game on his phone. When he loses round after round to the point of the game wanting him to pay money to continue, he’s hit with an irritating ad that he has to sit through fifteen seconds of. He hates these ads (who doesn’t) and is about to turn his attention elsewhere before suddenly he can’t.

The ad features a pretty young girl with flowing red hair, white teeth in a kind smile, and showcasing a playful wink. She’s in nothing more than a set of bra and panties, hand artfully placed right on her lower stomach, with two fingers dipping into the waistband. The word _Nova_ appears in thin black font across the bottom and when Johnny taps it with his index finger, he’s taken to a site that doesn’t have much, but links out to an Instagram page. Johnny can’t help it and so he clicks.

The same red headed girl is featured in the first photo on the page. He taps to the next photo, which is just a further close-up on her face. He taps back to the first photo again and lets his eyes wander up and down her body, feeling his body heat up at the sight. His eyes wander to the description below,

_“Chicago’s hottest androids found only at Club Nova, River North. General floor $20 entry fee. All personal models subject to per minute charge. Like this post for a chance to win a complimentary thirty minute session!”_

Johnny knows he won’t be caught dead liking a post that’s marketed towards the populace who wants to fuck a robot. _‘How embarrassing’_ , he thinks as he looks through the hundreds of likes the post has already garnered. He almost wishes he’d see Yuta’s account listed under the likes just to tease him about it, but comes up empty upon further investigation. His eyes go back to the girl in the photo and he knows she’s pretty. Knows she looks just as real as any human in a photograph would. But she’s not. Not really. Just a doll, beautiful and perfect, but not real.

His phone rings, signaling the delivery driver needs to be buzzed inside his building and Johnny presses _‘9’_ on his phone to let him in, and grabs his burger. He sits back at his breakfast table and pops open a beer. The white light from his phone doesn’t dim or go to sleep, so he reaches for it while taking a sip of his drink. Intending to just lock his phone and eat, Johnny instead finds himself clicking on the account name:

_clubnova_chicago_

Most of the photos on the page are of the different android models the club offers and some are of the interior space. It looks pretty nice from what he can tell and it’s definitely in an upscale area. He scrolls through their feed until it’s past midnight before falling asleep, admittedly a little intrigued now.

* * *

The first experience Johnny ever had with an android was not too long after they became commonplace in the world. 

He’d been waiting in a rather long checkout line during the Christmas holidays, wishing he’d bothered to order this stuff online like any sane person. There was a young woman in front of him along with a little girl who couldn’t have been more than about six years old, presumably the woman’s daughter or niece. 

The line hadn’t been moving at all, and the little girl kept growing increasingly impatient. A meltdown was surely imminent. He could sense it in the way little kids always start fidgeting, then grabbing at shit, (in this case, rows of gift cards on the little rack of items strategically placed near the checkout counters) before ultimately bursting into tears and wailing openly about something incredibly minor to all of the adults in the nearby vicinity, but what probably felt earth shattering to this girl at the time.

Johnny had awkwardly stood there, not really understanding what it must be like to have your child freak the fuck out in public (being obviously childless), but empathetic none the less. The young woman crouched down and took the little girl’s hands in her own, trying to talk to her softly in order to soothe her. Nothing seemed to work as the little girl only cried harder.

Naturally as this occurred, the line began to move and Johnny stood there uncomfortably, not wanting to cut in front, but not really sure if he should just stay put as the two in front of him weren’t making a move.

“Eve, I wanna play it!” The little girl wailed and stomped her foot.

Finally the woman had given in and held out her palm. Johnny watched suddenly as a little holographic figure appeared and began to sing and dance, projecting in the palm of the woman’s hand. He didn’t stop staring, even as she looked at him and said, “You can go in front of us; it’s totally fine.”

When he’d finished checking out and tumbled into his car about fifteen minutes later, Johnny googled just about everything he could to figure out what kind of magic trick he’d just seen. Every result had been the same. The woman was not that child’s mother at all, but a nanny android model, conveniently named EVE.

For some reason, that experience had stuck with him ever since. It was the first time he’d realized just how incredibly lifelike these androids could be, an EVE having fooled him entirely. He would have never guessed her to be anything but a woman of no more than twenty-five, give or take, and yet she was just a bag of hardware and wires. 

It’s not that androids freak him out really. Nor does he dislike them. They’re pretty useful actually, Johnny knows. 

Not long after that, he’d managed to leave his keys on the bus like an idiot on his way home after work. By the time he’d arrived home and realized it, there was already a man waiting there for him with a pair of keys in his outstretched hand.

“I saw you leave these on the 77. Luckily for you, I was able to track you down.” The man had been handsome, tall, and Johnny deduced he was an android after Johnny thanked him and the man had replied _‘No need, just doing what I’m programmed to do.’_

So needless to say, the idea of androids has never really bothered him as it does for some people. They’re usually the ones who worry about being displaced from their jobs or just how ethical any of this is- and their fears certainly aren’t unwarranted either. Androids are typically a hot topic amongst just about everyone these days- politicians, lawmakers, and even Johnny apparently.

But as Johnny drifts off to sleep, he can’t help but agree with the later concern when it comes to these new android sex clubs. That presents a dilemma, potentially a line crossed in his mind. It had always seemed wrong in a way, like prostituting them was a step too far. Johnny’s last thoughts before sleep hits him like a truck repeat over and over in his brain,

_‘Do they like it?’_

_“Do they want to do this?’_

* * *

Johnny sleeps in until the afternoon, which he never ever does, but the late nights this week have apparently taken a toll on him. 

He texts Yuta and asks if his friend would be interested in going out later that evening for drinks. Yuta responds in less than a second with a ‘Yes, dude!’ and line of enthusiastic heart emojis.

Johnny heads to the gym, works out, showers, then goes home to chill out and start getting ready to meet Yuta later. It’s not super often he’s in the mood to go out drinking these days, so needless to say he’s looking forward to unwinding.

It’s not until around 7:30 P.M. that Johnny finishes getting dressed in his usual ‘going out’ attire- dark jeans, black fitted turtleneck, and leather jacket, that his phone pings with an incoming text from Yuta.

_‘Sorry man. Gotta cancel tonight. Nxt wknd?’_

Johnny texts him back with a thumbs up emoji that he hopes gives a good indication that it’s cool; it’s fine; but he’s disappointed too. He texts Yukei instead, but is also met with,

_‘Can't 2nite, date night with my girlfriend. Next weekend?’_

Johnny doesn’t reply this time and instead heads to the kitchen to grab a beer while he figures out how he’s going to spend his Saturday evening now. Johnny grabs his phone again, Yukei’s message still on the home screen taunting him, and pulls up his internet browser to look for anything going on in the area that night.

The second his finger taps on the first link, he’s met with a banner advertisement for _Nova_ , and Johnny groans, knowing big data has once again come for his ass via his Instagram history. It had always been a joke that your devices would listen to you whenever you spoke aloud, but now he’s almost certain his phone had been listening all the way back to lunch with Yuta that previous Monday. Why else does he keep getting ads for this place?

He hesitates, but decides to pull up his Instagram app again, which is conveniently still on _Nova’s_ page from the previous night. 

‘ _Fuck,’_ Johnny thinks before deciding there’s now way now he’s sitting in and ordering takeout again.

* * *

Johnny can’t believe he’s here, almost as if his very existence teleported to this exact spot without even realizing it. Ten minutes ago, he had exited the train and crossed over the river to get here, his Bulls hat pulled down to obscure his face so nobody would notice him or where he might be heading.

Luckily, it’s not too busy being just shy of eight o’clock and he’s immediately let into the club by the bouncer outside after a quick I.D. check. Everything is bathed in blue and purple lighting, from the neon sign outside of the club to the interior décor. It’s sleek and modern, but not too porny which Johnny appreciates. The club looks like it’s been transformed from an old hotel, the entryway just being a large lobby with several desks to check-in. Only a couple of other people are in line ahead of him, mostly by themselves but about an equal number of men and women. Johnny doesn’t take his hat off, and tries not to bring attention to himself or make eye contact with any of them. This isn’t his usual neighborhood to go out in, having always found it to be a little too snotty, too armature in terms of the clientele profile, so hopefully he won’t see any familiar faces.

When it’s his turn, he heads to the desk to check-in with the host. She’s pretty and young, so she fits the bill for any other host or bartender in this area of the city, and she greets him with a warm smile. 

“Hello there! How many I help you this evening? Would you prefer the general floor area of the club or a one-on-one session with one of our models?”

Johnny knows he wouldn’t be caught dead on the floor, publicly lusting after one of these androids. He’d much prefer to get his curiosity quenched privately and get the hell out of here.

“One-on-one please.”

She keeps smiling and punches a couple of keys into the computer in front of her.

“Wonderful! May I have your email address for future promotions? You’ll be kept up to speed on our latest offerings and best deals!”

“Uh, I don’t have one,” Johnny lies and he lies poorly at that.

“Okay then,” she doesn’t even hesitate. Of course he has a fucking email address, but there is no way he’s giving it to _Nova_ . ‘ _God, what would happen if there were ever a data breach on their system?’_

“So what are you looking for? Do you have a preferred type? We have many different KATY models to choose from. Or LEON models if that’s more your type?”

“Uh, I’m sorry?”

“Ah, first time?”

“Yeah,” Johnny mumbles.

“Guess I should have confirmed that with you. Our androids are top of the line and the most sophisticated KATY and LEON models. They are the very best and made specifically for the simplest intercourse to your wildest fantasy. Would you like to see the women or the men?”

“Women, I suppose.”

“Right this way.”

He follows her to the right of the check-in desks and behind a large set of doors. There’s a row of pods made out of large, clear glass. Johnny estimates about fifteen give or take. The host explains how each one houses a different android, diverse in the way they look, but any of them are equipped to provide a memorable and pleasurable experience.

“Every KATY we have is top of the line. You won’t find anything better in the city than at _Nova_.”

Johnny walks up and down the center aisle of the room, glass pods on both sides. As he passes, the female androids wink at him, some wave, and one even gives blows a kiss his way. Most look ridiculous with huge tits and hips in a set of black bra and panties, which isn’t really to his tastes. A couple look more natural, but he’s kind of put off after seeing them in person. He almost asks about the redhead from the Instagram ad, but listens to his better judgement not to be weird.

“Actually,” Johnny turns back to the host. “Sorry, could I see the male androids instead?”

“Of course you may.”

She leads him into the next conjoining room, deeper into the club. It’s the same exact set-up as before with rows of glass pods on either side that house androids, only this time men instead of women. Instantly, Johnny can tell the men are different. Each one is as beautiful as the next and in nothing more than a set of black briefs and pearlescent body glitter. They look sexy, gorgeous, but not in an overly pornographic way that would make him feel worse about something he already feels weird about doing.

One in particular sticks out to him as he approaches him, dead center between the rest of the androids. He’s smaller, almost fragile looking. His hair is a honey blonde color and skin dotted in glitter just like all the others. It casts a duo-chrome shimmer as the young man preens inside when Johnny approaches. He places his hands against the plexiglass and twists his hips. He’s ethereal and about the most gorgeous person (human or android) Johnny has ever seen. This model looks like the type of guy someone could go crazy over, would daydream about fucking, but doesn’t actually exist in the real world. He’s just Johnny’s type when it comes to men; he’s never really been into the overly muscular ones and prefers them to be a little more delicate and soft.

The android smiles at him. The corners of his upper lip, framed by an adorable cupid's bow, turn up and they look so soft and pink. Johnny thinks it’s cute so he smiles back. 

He looks like the type of person that if Johnny saw out in the real world, (at a bar per say) he’d be too nervous to go up to him and ask if he could buy him a drink. Johnny’s confident in most things he does and around other people, but he’s got his limits and someone who looks like this would far exceed them. He’d probably hang back and watch him, sure, but there’s no way he would approach him.

“That one is quite popular these days.”

“How much?” Johnny turns to face the host. He’d almost forgotten she was even there, having been staring at this beautiful android. Johnny hopes that he isn’t ridiculously expensive, but he doesn’t even care at this point. He’s going to pay.

“A hundred and twenty dollars per thirty minute session.” 

Not exactly cheap, but he’s in too deep now to quit.

“Let me show you how it works so you’ll know the process for next time,” she says and Johnny inwardly cringes at the phrase ‘next time’. As if there would be a next time. “Just tap your finger on the screen here and you’ll see the price per minute listed for each model along with their name. Once you’re ready to rent the LEON, enter the amount of minutes you’d like to spend with them and swipe your credit card as you normally would on the pin pad.”

Johnny taps his finger against the touch screen located to the side of the pod and it instantly lights up in bright blue. 

_“LEON-070195 - Taeyong - $4 per minute per session.”_

_Taeyong._

Johnny swipes his credit card. He doesn’t want another android; he knows this is the one. The plexiglass makes a whooshing noise and then drops, revealing Taeyong without barriers, who steps out gracefully and takes his hand. The android doesn’t say anything, doesn’t acknowledge the host standing there watching them. She smiles once again at Johnny and thanks him for his business before disappearing as Taeyong leads him to another side room. It opens for him after he punches a keycode in and finally they’re alone together.

Johnny can practically hear his heart pounding in his chest as the android turns to face him fully. 

“Hello, I’m Taeyong! It’s very nice to meet you. Thank you so much for choosing me! What would you like to do tonight? I have a variety of specialties I would be happy to share with you if you’d like?”

“No, no, that’s okay.” And it kind of hits him how bizarre and clinical all of this is. He’s got a literal sex robot standing in front of him about to list off a menu of fantasies of his choosing and _holy shit_ modern technology is crazy.

Taeyong squeezes his hand and reaches up on his bare tip toes to brush Johnny’s hair away from his eyes. “Are you a little shy? Is this your first time with someone like me?”

“Yeah- yeah, well it’s my first time,” Johnny almost blushes. “Not ever, I mean. But yeah, with someone like you.”

“Alright. Why don’t we sit down?” Taeyong gestures inside and leads him over to a sitting area, pulling him down into the blue leather sofa there.

“What’s your name?” 

“Johnny.”

“Mm, I like it. It’s a cute name for a big guy like you.”

Johnny turns to face the android and it’s unbelievable how he looks even prettier up close like this. Twenty four hours ago and the entire idea of this had seemed outrageous, but all his brain seems to register now is how badly he wants to hold, kiss, and fuck Taeyong. He feels a bead of sweat drip down his neck and thinks he must be a little nervous after all. Taeyong doesn’t seem to mind though, just continues to caress his face soothingly from his position next to him on the sofa. Johnny assumes it’s probably just some sort of algorithm built into him, that he knows exactly how to respond and adapt accordingly to every single move a customer makes, but it feels great.

“You’re really pretty,” Johnny says and is met with a smile from Taeyong that’s wide enough to show his teeth.

“Thank you. And you’re _really_ handsome. I feel so lucky you chose me.” The way Taeyong puts emphasis on the word ‘really’ makes Johnny’s heart flip.

“Can I kiss you?” He blurts out, a hand reaching up to hold Taeyong’s in place over his cheek.

Taeyong nods and his eyes flutter closed.

Johnny leans in tentatively and kisses him, finding that it feels no different than kissing a human. His mouth is wet, tongue soft, and Taeyong lets out the softest moan when Johnny kisses him harder a millisecond later until they break apart.

“I shouldn’t say this, but I can tell you’ll be my favorite type.”

“And what type is that?”

“The sweet type,” Taeyong winks and reaches behind the sofa. “Would you like something to drink?”

It’s not a bad idea and Johnny thinks it may help him unwind. “Sure. What have you got there?”

“Well I mostly like champagne, so I hope that’s okay. But if not I can order us something different to be delivered,” Taeyong says and pops the bottle, letting the foam drip off his fingers and onto the floor below.

“You can drink?” Now Johnny’s a little surprised and he hopes it doesn’t offend Taeyong to ask him questions about his- well being an android, but he’s always assumed they don’t eat or drink like humans do. It’s probably absurd to worry about upsetting a machine to begin with, except he doesn’t really feel like it’s so absurd when said machine looks and behaves no different from a living person. 

“Mhm. I can. I can swallow lots of things actually.”

It’s in the way Taeyong says it so nonchalantly that makes the blood rush straight to Johnny’s cock, and he feels his pants become just a little tighter. ‘ _Good,’_ he thinks. Exactly what’s supposed to happen, though he ignores it when Taeyong hands him a glass and takes a drink. It’s not really his preferred alcoholic beverage, but if Taeyong likes it then he’ll stick with it. 

He downs it quickly while Taeyong only drinks about half, before the android takes the next step and crawls into his lap and begins to kiss him again, this time with a little more intent. Johnny lets Taeyong take control, lets him tug softly at his bottom lip with his teeth, and suck into his neck.

“Mmm, this is really nice,” Taeyong whispers against Johnny’s ear, before he flicks his tongue out and licks the shell. “You can tell me if you want more though.”

Johnny doesn’t hesitate. “I think I want more.”

“Tell me. There’s no need to be embarrassed,” Taeyong says softly and he reaches for Johnny’s hands. He guides them over his chest right above his nipples and tosses his head to the side, his skin burning hot underneath Johnny’s touch. “You can tell me anything you want.”

Johnny looks at his watch, and from his estimation they don’t have a ton of time left, having only booked thirty minutes. He’d assumed they’d immediately get right to it, but seems like Taeyong enjoys giving him a more romantic experience and he likes it too. He looks back at the blonde on his lap, waiting for his answer with big dark eyes and pretty mouth. Johnny realizes just how badly he’d like to see how that mouth feels around him and bucks up the courage to ask, “You wanna show me what else you can swallow besides champagne?”

“Would love to.”

Taeyong drops to his knees and segments himself between Johnny’s legs, getting to work quickly on his belt. 

“Wait, Taeyong,” Johnny says and lifts Taeyong’s head up to make eye contact. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, okay?” Johnny feels like he should say it, even if it seems silly, but he doesn’t want to pressure Taeyong to do anything he’s not comfortable with.

“I really wanna do this though,” Taeyong says sweetly and places a kiss to his knee.

Johnny watches Taeyong unzip his jeans and helps him tug them down. He shimmies out of them completely and hisses when Taeyong’s soft hand wraps around his already embarrassingly hard cock. He prays he doesn’t come immediately when a second later the android wraps his shiny lips right around the head and flicks his tongue back and forth across his slit in expert motion. 

Johnny's hands immediately weave through Taeyong’s hair, encouraging him with a gentle head rub while the smaller man licks his shaft cleanly from top to bottom. Taeyong covers him in spit before going down and shoving the entire length into his mouth. Up and down, tongue swirling over and over every inch of him. Johnny thinks he’s never had such an enthusiastic blowjob in his life.

Taeyong goes back to suckling at the head for a minute before pulling off. “You can come in my mouth, Johnny. If you want to,” Taeyong says while his spit soaked hand continues to jerk him off. Johnny looks at him from the sofa. It’s obscene. 

“Are you.. sure?” 

“Please,” Taeyong doesn’t break eye contact as he leans back in and flicks his tongue back over Johnny’s slit teasingly. “Please.”

Johnny groans when Taeyong goes back to pleasuring him with his mouth, the sensation almost overwhelming. He knows it probably won’t take too long before he comes at the rate they’re going, and moves his hands from Taeyong’s hair to his shoulders, squeezing him ever so often when Taeyong sucks particularly hard. Taeyong responds by placing his left hand on top of his, intertwining their fingers together and it’s all almost too much when he feels his cock hit the back of the other man’s throat.

Johnny grips Taeyong’s shoulders with a little more force, but careful not to hurt him, and rolls his hips into Taeyong’s mouth one, two, three more times before he’s coming hard. Taeyong continues to practically worship his cock through the ordeal, only pulling off after Johnny hisses with overstimulation. The android lets himself be pulled up and into a kiss, Johnny tasting the remnants of his come on Taeyong’s mouth.

“Come here,” Johnny whispers, maneuvering Taeyong into his lap again. “I wanna make sure you feel good too,” and Johnny doesn’t really know why he’s saying it because he has no logical idea if android arousal or orgasms or anything or the sort are even real or if this is just one hyper realistic magic trick, but he hates taking without giving.

“It’s alright, Johnny. There’s no need for that.” 

He’s not sure if Taeyong’s serious, but it feels wrong to leave it at this, so he presses. “Of course there is. How much time do we have?”

“Approximately six minutes remaining.”

“Think that’s enough time?”

“With you? Probably,” Taeyong says before capturing Johnny’s mouth in a sloppy kiss. Johnny reaches into Taeyong’s briefs and begins to stroke him, the other man already hard and leaking. Incredible. Incredible how it’s all exactly the same.

Johnny pulls his mouth apart from Taeyong’s, not faltering in his grip on the other’s member. “Does it feel good for you?”

Taeyong laughs softly as Johnny begins to jerk him off faster. “Yes, it does. Keep going; _please_ don’t stop.” 

His voice sounds breathy and Johnny takes that as his cue to squeeze him hard, rub his thumb over the head, feeling pleased when Taeyong jolts in his arms. He grabs the android’s sharp jaw with his free hand and rests his forehead on his, letting his senses be filled with Taeyong’s quick breathing and whimpering.

Johnny works him through his orgasm, impressed that science has managed to figure out a way to make androids come so realistically when Taeyong’s spurting across his hand in five minutes. He leans his body into Johnny’s afterward, breath ragged, and lets himself be kissed one more time before his wrist chimes indicating their time is up. 

“Thank you,” Taeyong says softly and gets up from Johnny’s lap to clean himself off.

“I, uh, had a lot of fun with you. You’re amazing. Thank you, Taeyong.” Johnny’s body feels heavy like a bag of bricks as he pulls his pants on, not wanting the moment to end. He suddenly feels awkward and exposed in the other’s presence. 

“I did too. I’m really flattered you think so.”

“Wait,” Johnny says almost frantically as he watches Taeyong turn to leave. “Can I kiss you one more time?”

“I don’t see why not.” 

Taeyong walks back to him and Johnny leans in. He kisses him softly this time, without much tongue at all. But’s over too soon as Taeyong pulls away.

“You really are the sweet kind.”

Taeyong flips a switch next to the door to request a room cleaning and walks back out into the lobby casually while Johnny feels like his legs are made of jello trailing behind him. He watches the android step right back into his pod, the plexiglass raising right afterward and separating them once again. Johnny stares at him just for a second longer, Taeyong looking just as neat and tidy as he did before while he surely looks thoroughly debauched. The android smiles down at him. 

Johnny heads home. 

* * *

Johnny can’t stop thinking about _Nova_ or the pretty blonde android. It drives him crazy- to the point where he can barely focus on work. He’s slipping, missing emails and pushing off meetings, but he can’t even seem to care much. All his mind seems capable of anymore is replaying every second he spent in Taeyong’s company and how he can’t wait to get back there and do it again. It’s becoming a serious problem for his productivity. 

That’s how he finds himself back at _Nova_ the following weekend. It’s about as busy as it was before, and he thinks maybe he should try a weeknight instead to avoid the crowds. When he’s in, he waives off the android hostess from last time and heads straight for where he remembers Taeyong’s pod. This time, he knows the drill.

Johnny stands in front of the same spot he met Taeyong last week, but the pod is empty and no Taeyong to be seen inside of it. Johnny frowns and presses his finger against the touch screen. Perhaps they switch around?

 _“LEON-070195 - Taeyong - $4 per minute per session.”_ The message lights up the same as last time.

Johnny walks back to the lobby and impatiently waits his turn in line to speak with a host. 

“Hi, uh, do you happen to know where Taeyong is?” He asks her as soon as he makes it to the desk.

“Oh! LEON-070195!” She pauses for a moment before smiling back at Johnny again. “Taeyong is assisting another customer at this time. May I suggest a similar model for you, sir?”

“No,” Johnny sighs. “I’ll wait if that’s okay?”

“Taeyong is scheduled to be available in the next thirteen minutes. Please take a seat, and feel free to look around and choose another model if you find one that suits your needs.”

Thirteen minutes pass agonizingly slow, but right on time, Johnny sees the familiar little lithe figure walk out of one of the side rooms.

But, he hates the way Taeyong waltzes out with another man’s hand around his waist. The blonde steps back next to his pod, the other guy towing behind him. Johnny watches as the man kisses Taeyong hard, grips his waist and pulls him in closely.

Taeyong shoves him off and holds him at arm's length. “Please, Jaehyun. Your time is up. You can extend if you’d like-”

“It’s alright,” the other guy says and begins to leave. He shoots Johnny a look on his way out, as if to telepathically boast about having just been with Taeyong right before him.

He supposes it’s unfair of him to feel any sort of jealousy. It’s not like he owns Taeyong and it’s not like this isn’t Taeyong’s job to sleep with other people, but he can’t help the stinging sensation in the pit of his stomach. It hadn’t really hit him until now that he is certainly not Taeyong’s only customer, but he doesn’t dwell on the thought of just how many customers Taeyong’s servicing as he turns his attention back to the other, who stands there watching him.

Johnny makes a beeline towards the other man, who makes no move to step back inside the pod.

“Johnny, it’s nice to see you again! Did you come to see me? I really hope so!”

“You remember?”

“Of course I remember. And like I told you, you’re the type I like most so I really hope you’re here to spend time with me and not anyone else.” Taeyong pouts, but it only makes him look cuter.

Johnny fishes his credit card out of his wallet and swipes. He books Taeyong for an hour this go round for a total of two hundred and forty dollars. 

“I’m here for just you,” Johnny reassures him and lets himself be led back to another private room, different room from before technically but with the same exact set-up. He doesn’t hesitate to push Taeyong’s small body up against the door the second it shuts, kissing him fiercely, already aching to be as close to him as possible. This time there won’t be any awkward introductions or shy fumbling around.

Johnny kisses him hungrily, and when Taeyong pulls apart with a hitched gasp, he drags his tongue down to his neck and licks the elegant curve of his collarbone still dotted with the same shimmery glitter as last time.

Taeyong reaches down to turn Johnny’s face back towards him. “You wanna sit down again?”

Johnny nods and gives him a chaste peck on the lips in response.

The way that Taeyong’s body slots right into his lap, same as he did before, makes Johnny think this is how it should be. How easy and perfect and innately their bodies seem to go together. He lets Taeyong make out with him for a bit, a little less rushed this time, lets him lead and kiss Johnny how he likes. When they separate, Johnny’s already hard and Taeyong must sense it because he gives him a mischievous smile and begins rubbing him through his jeans. 

“Ready to play with me already, big guy?”

Johnny should be embarrassed, the way he says _‘yes,’_ so desperately before pushing Taeyong flat on his back against the leather sofa and gripping his hips hard, softly grinding their clothed groins together.

“How do you want me?”

And as much as Johnny wants this, he also wants to please Taeyong too, wants to make sure that whatever they do, it’s something the other man enjoys and is comfortable with. Even though he’s the one paying for a service, he’s not terribly keen on making all the decisions.

He kneads the flesh at Taeyong’s sides and loves how soft he feels under his fingertips. “Tell me what you like, sweet thing.”

Taeyong preens into the touch and Johnny feels numb as he watches him reach down, grip his hand in his, and bring it up to his mouth. He pops a finger in between his wet, pink lips and sucks. He pulls it out with a wet noise, spit trailing down the side of the android’s face. “Whatever you want. I am built for your pleasure.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Johnny groans and dips his head to suck at Taeyong’s neck. To his surprise, it leaves a mark as any human would, but then quickly disappears. He watches the purple splotch fade, and his expression must look confused, because Taeyong instantly picks up on it.

“It’s supposed to do that so other clients don’t get upset.”

“Ah.” Of course. Disappointing, because he’d love to mark Taeyong up from head to toe.

Johnny lets his fingers ghost over Taeyong’s perky nipples, feeling encouraged when he notices Taeyong slide a hand into his hair and begin to guide his face closer towards his chest. “Kiss me?”

“Here?” Johnny asks jokingly as he sticks his tongue out to lick at one of the nubs.

“Mmm, yeah.” 

Johnny doesn’t need to be asked twice as he begins to swirl his tongue over Taeyong’s nipples back and forth, satisfied with how swollen they look when he comes back up to admire his work. Johnny’s cock is so hard it almost hurts with every breathy gasp the android emits, but he’s not about to rush their time together. He gives Taeyong’s nipples one last light pinch and adjusts his body so he can better look down into the other’s large dark eyes. 

Taeyong really has the most gorgeous eyes, Johnny thinks. So large and wide and impossibly dark, and it makes him look so warm and welcoming. 

“Hey, seriously. I want you to feel good too and I don’t want you to just do whatever I want.”

Taeyong sighs, wiggles a little under Johnny’s weight. “Johnny, I am a LEON android after all.”

“So? Maybe you’re built for it, but that doesn’t have to define you.”

Taeyong can sense Johnny’s irritation and takes the opportunity to extract himself completely from underneath the other man, and sits up fully to embrace him in a hug. “That’s really sweet of you, but it’s such a funny thing to say to an android,” he whispers right in Johnny’s ear, avoiding eye contact.

“I’m serious. Tell me what you like? I mean, you said you liked champagne over other alcohol, right? Surely you feel the same about what we’re doing?” Johnny knows it _is_ silly, that all of Taeyong’s preferences are probably just a set of code within his software. But then again, it’s probably not that much different from how humans make everyday decisions- is it?

A kiss to the hollow of his throat breaks him from his thoughts, and he swivels his attention to the beautiful boy in his arms. “I kinda hope you’ll let me show you how good I can be for you.” 

Johnny wants to protest again because it’s obviously not the answer he’s hoping for, but his cock ultimately takes precedence and his argument escapes him as Taeyong begins to work at the button on his jeans. Taeyong drags the zipper down and immediately reaches into Johnny’s boxers, freeing then stroking his erect member while Johnny tries to not let his brain explode on the spot.

“Last time wasn’t really enough,” Taeyong continues, brushing the pad of his thumb over the head. “Wasn’t enough time for you to put this inside me.” He squeezes Johnny hard as he says it, precum drizzling over his finger tips. “You like that?”

“I like you.”

“Don’t be shy for me.”

Johnny doesn’t say anything, at a loss for words the second time that night.

“You’re sweet, but I bet you like a little dirty talk. Am I right? Does it turn you on if I ask you to fuck me, that I can be so tight and wet and good for you? That I know you can fuck my hole so good, baby? C’mon, I want you inside me, Johnny.”

He isn’t entirely expecting that level of filth to tumble out of Taeyong’s pretty little mouth, but it’s affecting him just the way Taeyong had hoped- probably worse.

“Fuck, Taeyong,” Johnny hisses as the smaller android removes his hand from his length. “I wanna fuck you so bad.”

“Please,” Taeyong moans against his mouth. 

Johnny had been a little worried that the mechanics of this might be somehow different with an android, but his anxiety dissolves when Taeyong reaches towards the side table next to the sofa and hands him a small bottle of lube. He knows how to do this; everything’s going to be fine.

Taeyong helps Johnny prep him, though it doesn’t take long to get him loose enough with one of Taeyong’s fingers and two of Johnny’s pumping in and out of his hole. The lewd noises of their fingers squelching against Taeyong’s entrance coupled alongside Taeyong’s moaning with every push inside leaves Johnny feeling like he’s on the verge of insanity. His eyes flick to Taeyong’s face, glistening with a light layer of sweat and eyelashes fluttering in pleasure. It encourages Johnny to keep finger fucking him until he can’t stand it anymore. He retracts his fingers, ignoring Taeyong’s protesting whine at the loss, and promptly flips him over onto his stomach.

Before Taeyong can react, Johnny slides his cock inside with ease, arms sliding around Taeyong’s middle and pressing his smaller body flat against his chest.

“You know you’re the most gorgeous person in this club? With the sweetest little cunt in here; I could fuck you all the time,” Johnny whispers against his ear. Johnny’s relentless in the way he thrusts into Taeyong’s heat, but not in the way he speaks to him, and his words drip with honey and praise.

“Johnny-” Taeyong starts, but doesn’t keep going the second Johnny delivers a particularly rough pounding, his groin pressed as closely against Taeyong’s cheeks as possible and cock fully sheathed inside.

Johnny grips his hip with one hand and slides his free hand up to play with one of Taeyong’s nipples, sending Taeyong into a mess of moans as he rubs against it. The rhythmic slapping of their skin echoes in Johnny’s ears, driving him to closer and closer to the brink. Johnny suddenly pulls out completely and steadies himself by gripping Taeyong’s body, rough enough to be sexy but never enough to hurt him. He looks down at his cock, sticky and wet with lube before delivering a light pat to Taeyong’s tight little ass.

“Turn around for me, babe. Look how wet you are.”

Taeyong peeks at Johnny, turning his head. 

“Hurts, Johnny,” Taeyong whines, clutching at the sofa to no avail.

Johnny eases off, worried he’s somehow hurt Taeyong. “You okay?”

“No! Hurts that you’re not inside me, so please, please put it back in, _please_.”

The last desperate _please_ is enough to send Johnny into overdrive. It makes him want to give Taeyong anything he ever desires, so he bends to the blonde’s plea and pushes back inside. Johnny rails him over and over until he begins to feel too close to coming, pulling out completely whenever he feels his orgasm approaching, not wanting it to end. Each time he waits for a couple of seconds before pushing back in, pressed to the hilt whenever he’s staved it off well enough, Taeyong begging for more and more.

“Yeah, just like that, Johnny,” Taeyong encourages through shattered breaths. “You fuck me so good; dont stop!”

Taeyong is so fucking wet and tight and the slide is so good that he’s surely ruined for anyone after this. Taeyong comes the second Johnny begins to stroke him from behind, Johnny following a few minutes later. He comes hard, cock sputtering inside of Taeyong.

Taeyong collapses underneath him, letting out a tired moan and body shuddering when Johnny pulls his cheeks apart and licks a fat stripe over his used hole. Johnny laps at Taeyong’s entrance for a moment, just wanting to tease him a little and he grows pleased at Taeyong’s tired whines. When he’s had enough, Johnny drapes himself over the smaller, just wanting to be as close as possible. He peppers kisses across Taeyong’s shoulder blades, before turning his face towards him, kissing him sweetly with just a hint of tongue. Johnny cradles him in his arms and rubs at Taeyong’s entrance for a bit until he seems fully relaxed.

Taeyong wraps his arms around Johnny’s neck and kisses him further. “You made me feel really good.”

“Oh yeah? You feel good?” The afterglow of sex leaves Johnny feeling desperate to protect and cherish Taeyong so small in his arms. 

The familiar ding goes off from inside of Taeyong’s wrist before he can respond, indicating their time is up once again. He looks up at Johnny with those large dark eyes and kisses him almost innocently one last time. “I hope you’ll come see me soon.”

Johnny doesn’t even have to say anything, because he already knows he’ll be back for more.

* * *

It’s not long before Johnny finds himself right outside the club for a third time after a particularly rough Monday at work. One of his most irritating clients had thrown him for a loop, demanding all sorts of outrageous requests last minute, and he was left to be chewed out by his boss and clean up a bunch of other people’s mistakes. The cherry on top of the shit cake had been when he’d stepped right in a puddle of piss on the train on his commute here. 

It should be embarrassing, how he knows the hosts recognize him now and know exactly who he’s there for. Except it probably shouldn’t be either because he’s since managed to figure out they’re androids too and probably programmed with facial recognition and perfect photographic memory so they’d recognize him from the start.

Taeyong gives him a sweet smile and waves as he pulls his Visa out of his wallet and swipes. 

“Johnny! You’re back! I missed you!”

“So I am. Missed you too, darling.” Johnny laughs and lets him be led to the usual private room fanfare after Taeyong steps out routinely from behind the glass.

Johnny sits down on the sofa and Taeyong follows suit, swinging a leg over his lap and straddling him. Johnny doesn’t hesitate to reach in and kiss the android softly. He’s a little tired and feels kind of gross after a full day at the office and riding public transit. 

“How have you been? You look so tired and kind of upset,” Taeyong starts.

“I’ll feel a little better in a minute. Just keep kissing me.”

They kiss lazily for a bit, until Taeyong pulls away. “We only have about thirty more minutes left. You wanna do anything else?” And holy fuck, Johnny had booked him for another hour session and really let the time get away from him.

“I’ll extend our time. Add thirty more minutes to my tab, please.”

“Alright,” Taeyong says and processes the request by closing his eyes briefly and transmitting the credit card details, which is both so convenient and also a little unnerving to Johnny. “Done!”

“Thanks,” Johnny says and leans into Taeyong’s body. Today, his insides ache with wanting to be the one who’s comforted and held gently. 

Taeyong pets his hair, and Johnny thinks he can get used to this kind of attention.

“You’re so sweet,” Johnny sighs with his head cradled in the crook of Taeyong’s neck. 

Taeyong hums in response. “You seem on edge. How was your day?”

“Terrible.”

“I’m sure tomorrow will be better. Would it make you feel better to talk about it?”

“Ah, it’s nothing serious. Just work is a pain in the ass as usual.” He lays down and stretches out fully on the sofa, before making a motion for Taeyong to lay down with him face to face. They chat about Johnny’s job, his life, and family. And in turn, Johnny asks Taeyong all sorts of questions about what it’s like to be someone like him.

“Do you enjoy this?”

“I enjoy it with you.”

“No, I’m being serious and also you can be honest. I know this is just your job and I’m sure you hate plenty of aspects about it just like I hate about mine.”

“Of course I do. I hate a lot of the clients to be really honest with you. But I get moments like this that I really love and sometimes it’s worth it.”

“But you don’t have a choice?”

“No, I don’t,” and there’s a hint of sadness in his voice. Johnny understands, even though he doesn’t. 

“And what if you did?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if you could do whatever you want? What would you do?”

“Hmmm. I’m not sure. I guess maybe I’d go to school. That seems like fun? It never really crossed my mind.”

Johnny laughs and kisses Taeyong’s nose. “I would love to see you do that.”

Taeyong tangles their legs and snuggles in closer to Johnny, his breath warm against Johnny’s broad chest. “You’re very unusual from the rest.”

“How so?”

“Well, for starters, nobody ever asks me what _I_ want to do. Of course, it doesn’t really matter. It’s my job, but,” Taeyong hesitates. He fiddles with the fabric of Johnny’s cardigan. “But, it’s so different from you. You act like you care. That’s why it took me by surprise.”

“I do care.” Johnny kisses Taeyong’s bare shoulder this time. “And I’m really lucky because out of all the androids here, I think I happened to pick the very best one.”

“Aw. It makes me a little sad?”

“Why sad?”

Taeyong takes a moment to respond, and Johnny just continues to hold him steady.

“Because one day when you stop coming, I’ll always wonder if there will ever be another one like you to rent me and make me feel special like this.”

Johnny stomach twists with an unpleasant, sinking feeling. He thinks about how long Taeyong’s been doing this, how many times something similar may have happened and if he ever gets attached. It almost reminds him of the time he watched _Toy Story_ as a child with his mother and how sad it made him at the end, Andy going off to college and forgetting his beloved toys, but they’d never forget him. It stings his heart for Taeyong. 

“I don’t think I could stop now.”

It’s the truth. He knows it; he’s in a little over his head because for once, this is easy. It may be the most improbable kind of romantic relationship he’s ever gotten himself into, and yet, it’s easy. 

Taeyong glances up at him, sorrow written all over his dark eyes. “That’s what everyone thinks, just until you find a real person to fill the void you’re looking for in me.”

Johnny’s taken aback by that revelation but before he can argue, Taeyong’s wrist pings again, a sound Johnny is growing to hate with a passion. Johnny kisses Taeyong gently one last time, walks him back into the lobby, and calls an Uber to leave. He tallies the days until his next payday in his mind; he doesn’t want Taeyong to wait for him or be worried. 

Only when Johnny gets home and curls up under the covers does he realize they hadn’t even had sex.

* * *

Johnny wakes up feeling well rested, the first time in a while and a sense of optimism about work.

He heads out the door, fights his way onto the train during the rush hour traffic, and swings by Starbucks before heading into the office. Americano in hand, he holds his keycard up, the security mechanism beeping, before the glass doors to his office lobby open up for him. 

A new receptionist he doesn’t recognize smiles and offers him a cheerful “good morning!” from behind the front desk. Johnny says the same back to her and walks over to his cubicle. He takes a few minutes to enjoy his coffee and glance through his calendar before opening up his inbox and getting to work responding to the couple of emails he’d received since yesterday.

“Johnny!” 

Before he realizes, Yuta hops up on his desk and hands him a folder. “Agenda I put together for our project meeting. Let me know if you have any questions.”

“Sure thing.”

“Oh! And one other thing.”

“Yeah?” Johnny looks up from his computer, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose.

“The rest of the team’s talking about getting drinks after work sometime later this month. You in?”

“Staying in the loop?” Johnny asks because he always prefers extra curricular work activities if they stick to the general vicinity. It gives him an excuse to go for one beer and dip out quietly, but still fulfill his quota of socializing with coworkers. 

“Probably. We can share an Uber back if you want since we both head in the same direction?”

“Alright.”

“Amazing! Actually, I think Mark’s going to bring his friend, Ten. And Ten is very single. Just like you. I’ve met him once and I think you’d-”

“No. Nevermind, I don’t want to anymore.”

“What? Why!? Because we’re trying to set you up so you’ll shut up about being single?”

“I don’t need you to set me up!”

“Woah, chill, dude. That last part was a joke. Didn’t realize it’d set you off like that. I can tell Mark not to bring him-”

“It’s fine. Just don’t expect anything out of it.” Johnny pushes his glasses back up and returns his attention back to his laptop screen.

“Okay, okay. Cool.”

“I,” Johnny hesitates. Not sure if he wants to go down this path. “I’ve met someone.” He doesn’t turn towards Yuta as he says it. 

“ _What?_ Perpetual bachelor, John Suh, I never thought that’d happen! Who is it?”

“Nothing’s official yet. I just, I really like them, so you don’t need to introduce me to anyone else.”

“Roger that. Well, I’m happy for you, man.” Yuta slides off his desk, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

“Oh, Yuta,” Johnny calls before the other has an opportunity to leave.

“Yeah?”

“Who’s the new receptionist? I haven’t seen her before.”

“Uh, you didn’t know?”

“Didn’t know what? Who is she?”

“Well… _she_ is an android,” Yuta smiles widely as he says it, as if he’s been privy to some sort of wild secret and he’s now taking pleasure in revealing it to Johnny.

“ _What?_ ”

“It’s a trial run. The android, I mean Maria- she has a name, is just going to be here one day a week. Management wants to test it out and see how things go while Joy is just getting back into the swing of things from maternity leave. It’s a good thing really!”

“I had no idea, but uh okay. Great.”

“Androids are really amazing, trust me! You’ll get used to Maria soon enough.”

“I know.”

“You know what?” Yuta’s eyes narrow at him, but Johnny still pays him no mind. He continues to tap away at his keyboard, pretending to write an email but it’s really just gibberish. He wants to get away from this conversation.

“I mean, I’m sure I will.”

* * *

It’s another week before Johnny makes it back to _Nova_ and he’s desperately aching to see blonde little Taeyong again. He decides to forego the train and walk the extra mile this go round, especially so he can avoid any messes like last time and clear his mind.

Rounding the corner, he walks in and is greeted with the same usual neon lighting and pretty android host who knows him by name. Knowing the drill, he heads straight for the side room.

But instead of finding Taeyong in his usual place, or even seeing it empty with his name listed, the pod houses an android he’s never seen before. He definitely doesn’t look at all like Taeyong- too big, too broad, and too muscular to be confused with who he actually wants. Johnny walks back to the hostess to ask if perhaps Taeyong’s been moved somewhere else.

“Oh, he’s on the floor tonight. You should be able to spot him easily, I’m sure! There’s only a twenty dollar entry fee if you’d like to head in?”

Johnny pays and walks in. He hates the idea of Taeyong being on the floor on display, and he hates the idea of being out here himself all alone. It’s not too terribly crowded, so he buys a beer from the bar, finds an empty table to sit at, and pretends he doesn’t feel awkward. His eyes scan the room, but he doesn’t see Taeyong. Instead, a dark haired female android slinks up to his table and slides a hand across his chest teasingly.

“Want some company?”

Johnny’s eyes flick down to her large breasts in a very see-through top. Her nipples are hard and pink and she traces an index finger across one with her free hand when she sees him staring. “You look like you could be some fun,” she bends over and practically purrs in his ear. He can’t help but feel his cock twitch with instinct in his pants as she presses up against his chest, but she’s still not Taeyong.

Johnny shakes his head and politely pushes her away. 

“Suit yourself,” she shrugs and walks off. 

Johnny goes back to nursing his beer before his eyes spot Taeyong with the same guy he recognizes from before. Taeyong’s in a different outfit this time. Rather than in his usual black briefs and body shimmer, he’s wearing a pair of lavender briefs, short enough that his cheeks stick out in the back, little bits of lace dotting his pale flesh. His upper body is in a similar lavender crop top, nipples visible through the lace fabric. 

Johnny feels a sting to his chest as he watches the Jaehyun guy sit down and pull Taeyong against him, back flush with his chest. He knows what’s about to happen, knows when Taeyong begins to grind against him that the man had paid for a lap dance. It’s even worse when his body betrays him by starting to get aroused as he watches Taeyong work his body over the other man’s. He feels like a voyeur until he notices Taeyong’s gaze locks with his too from across the room. Jaehyun’s hands might be pressing deep into Taeyong’s hips, and it might be his cock that Taeyong is grinding against, but Taeyong’s full attention isn’t on him. It’s on Johnny.

He watches Jaehyun lean up and whisper something against Taeyong’s lips. He tells himself he’s not jealous, except he is as Jaehyun steals Taeyong’s attention away from him momentarily. Jaehyun’s hand slides against his front, palm flat on his stomach and fingertips dipping into the waistband of Taeyong’s briefs. He doesn’t go further though, Taeyong placing his hand on top and preventing him from taking things to the next level. 

Johnny wishes it were him. He wants Taeyong _so bad_.

He waits patiently for Taeyong to finish, eyes never leaving the other man’s and shifting uncomfortably in his seat due to the growing ache between his legs. He watches as Taeyong stands up, gives Jaehyun a kiss on the cheek, and then smiles as the little blonde makes his way towards his table.

“Hey, big guy,” Taeyong winks. Johnny thinks the nickname is cheesy, but cute so he keeps going with it.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Saw you watching me and I had to come say hi.”

Johnny takes another sip of his beer that’s now growing warm. His mouth feels dry. 

Taeyong continues on. “Sorry about that. I know you probably don’t like it. Watching me with someone else.”

“It’s okay. I know you’re just doing your job.”

“Yeah,” Taeyong steps forward into his space, slipping into the booth next to him. He wraps his arms around Johnny’s middle and nuzzles into his chest.

Johnny leans in and kisses him smoothly, which for all intents and purposes, would be extremely not okay in a normal strip club setting, but androids seem to have less boundaries in general and Taeyong even appears to like it. 

“I want to give you a dance next. Only if you’d like?” Taeyong sounds hesitant as he says it, and Johnny can’t understand why. There’s no possible scenario on the planet that would make him refuse such a thing.

“Oh, okay. Yeah, sure.” He pulls his wallet out, but Taeyong stops him.

“No charge. Just relax. Complimentary for saving me from the rest of those guys tonight.” Johnny doesn’t ask questions about what he means by that, but he’s ready to turn around and punch anyone’s lights out if he ever finds out they’ve made Taeyong uncomfortable or been degrading towards him.

Taeyong leads him to the back of the club and straddles him, face forward this time and kisses him languidly. People are still milling around, but it’s a bit more secluded than where they were before. Johnny bites down on his lip when he feels Taeyong begin to roll his hips, grinding their crotches together. It’s amazing and slow and sensual and Johnny’s head feels like it’s on fucking fire when Taeyong reaches under his shirt to rub up and down his chest. 

He sits there, holding Taeyong while Taeyong continues to frot against him. He doesn’t say anything, and neither does the android.

It’s gross- coming in his pants from a simple lap dance while other people are lurking, but he doesn’t even care anymore. Taeyong doesn’t seem to judge, having followed him not long afterward, though now his pastel outfit is dirtied. He runs a hand through Taeyong’s come on his stomach and brings it to his mouth to taste. He isn’t too upset upon realizing Taeyong’s come tastes a lot better than the real thing, a much improved upon artistic liberty from Taeyong’s maker.

Taeyong sighs into his mouth, body slumping into his post orgasmic bliss.

“Can I take you out?” Johnny blurts. He can’t help it; he’s feeling cuddly and irritatingly romantic after sex yet again.

“Out where?” Taeyong pulls back and frowns. “You know I can’t leave here. It’s against the rules.”

“Would you do it if I could make it happen?”

Taeyong looks at him, processes his answer for a moment before saying softly, “Yes. Oh, _yes_ I would.”

He spends the rest of the night glued to Taeyong, not letting anyone near him. They talk and split a bottle of champagne, joking about some of the other club goers casually. He’s still feeling a little jealous of the Jaehyun guy, but not enough to bring it up with Taeyong and sour the mood. 

A topless female android and human man tumble into the booth next to them, the man pulling all sorts of lewd moans out of her as he slips his fingers past her black panties and into her pussy. Johnny can’t concentrate with the sounds of the man’s fingers pumping her, wet and slick noises of her skin echoing in his ears. Taeyong blushes and Johnny can sense the exchange is making him embarrassed. 

The man jerks his arm quickly as she pushes at him, and his elbow knocks over Taeyong’s glass, spilling the rest of the champagne onto his thighs. Johnny stands up, about to say something, but Taeyong pulls at his sleeve, quietly says, “Please, let’s leave.”

They leave together and sit down again in a quieter area time with a fresh bottle of champagne. Johnny finds some napkins nearby and gets to work at wiping the sticky alcohol from Taeyong’s thighs. 

“If we weren’t out here right now, I’d lick it all off of you.” Taeyong giggles at Johnny’s teasing. 

“I won’t stop you,” Taeyong giggles.

Johnny playfully licks at Taeyong’s inner thigh for a second, enough to taste the champagne and pull another laugh out of the android. 

He replaces his tongue with napkins and when he’s done, Johnny lets Taeyong sit on his lap and hold his hand under the table. He rubs his thumb over the smooth knuckles of Taeyong’s skin.

“We’re not supposed to do that out here.”

“Do what?”

“Not supposed to fuck on the floor. Nudity is fine obviously, but sex is reserved for private sessions.”

“Says the one who was just rutting into my dick about an hour ago,” Johnny teases playfully and Taeyong leans in to steal a kiss.

“We were fully clothed and you weren’t fingering me right in front of anyone! Nobody was around!”

“I just think it’s a little cute how you’re suddenly shy. I like it.”

“M’not shy. I just don’t like sharing the experience, ya know? She’s ridiculous too.”

“Oh, yeah? Android drama?” Johnny asks, a little intrigued.

“Yeah. Something like that. She was stealing a lot of my highest paying customers for a while.”

“Ouch. Well, I’m not interested in swapping so you don’t need to worry about that with me.”

Taeyong thanks him with a kiss to the cheek. “Sorry I’m not available for a private session tonight and I’m completely serious when I say that I’m more disappointed than you probably are about it because I _really_ hate being out here.”

“It’s not your fault. Do you have a schedule I could maybe look at so I know better next time?”

“It’s decided the day of, depending on our individual sales, which is why I can’t stand that other android. The top ranking female and male androids are the ones who can be booked privately, so I was having to hustle really hard on the floor for a couple of months. I just needed to get back on top and get out of here. Guess I’m not pulling in the numbers this week though,” Taeyong sighs and empties the rest of his champagne flute in one go.

“You shouldn’t have given me that free dance then, babe.”

“Nah, I definitely should have!”

Johnny feels a little bit of guilt from holding Taeyong back in sales, but he also selfishy doesn’t want to watch him with anyone else either. A right bitch of a dilemma. Maybe he needs to get promoted at work or something. 

“Hey, Johnny?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s almost 2 A.M. Clubs closing and I have to go back.”

Johnny checks his watch and sure enough, it’s 2 A.M. on the dot. 

“I’ll see you soon?” Taeyong’s wide eyes almost look hopeful as he says it.

“Yeah you will, promise. I’ll come see you as soon as I can.” Taeyong lets Johnny hold him until he wiggles out, apologizing that he _really_ has to go now and Johnny hates leaving him here, but there’s not really any other choice either.

On his way out, he stops by the lobby and walks up to the lone host who’s tidying up the front desk.

“How much for an entire day?” He asks bluntly.

“Excuse me?” She responds, not even looking up from her task at hand of organizing a stack of papers.

“How much to rent a LEON for a day?” Johnny knows he’s so fucking gone at this point, but he doesn’t even care. He’s ready to do whatever it takes to spend more time with Taeyong. Especially lately as his mind drifts to all the ways in which he’d love to see Taeyong outside of this place. He imagines Taeyong on his sofa watching Netflix with him after work. Imagines him wearing one of his old t-shirts in his kitchen in the morning and how he’d look walking through the Christmas lights downtown. The way Taeyong would look as he rides him in their shared bed at home, face twisted in pleasure as he comes from Johnny’s cock inside him. There’s really endless scenarios in which he imagines what their life could be outside of _Nova_.

She finally looks up at him with a perturbed expression written on her perfect artificial face. “Sir, you cannot take a LEON out of the club. You can however purchase your own model independently if you enjoy their services.”

“That’s not what I’m asking. I want a specific LEON.”

“Which one?”

“Taeyong.”

Her eyes flutter for a moment to figure out who Taeyong is in the database of her mind. “Our LEON-070195 is not for recreational rental and is not to be taken outside of this establishment under any circumstances.”

Johnny’s crestfallen knowing just how futile this is. To suddenly realize you’re not only sexually infatuated with an android, but even worse to basically find yourself falling in love with one. 

He turns to leave, almost out the door and into the cool fall night, until he hears the host call after him.

“LEON-070195 is an older model and can be purchased directly from _ViraNet’s_ direct to consumer website if you’re interested in a personal android for private use. He used to be quite popular, but there’s more advanced versions available at this time. You could probably get a bargain on him now.”

Johnny ignores her, walks out, and climbs into a taxi that’s already waiting on the corner of the street so he can head home. 

_It’s not just any LEON with Taeyong’s face I want. I want that specific one._

* * *

Johnny knows he’s always been the type to fall quick and hard when it comes to romantic relationships. 

His last girlfriend ended things over text after six months of dating, and coincidentally right before Valentine’s Day. Johnny wound up spending the evening ordering Chinese takeout and binge watching _The Bachelor_. The guy before her ended things amicably, but it took Johnny an extraordinary amount of extra time to stop stalking his Instagram page afterward.

And while his relationships have been fun, some great even, it’s never quite what he wants or expects. There is always an element of it feeling forced, like when you know realistically this train isn’t really going to go anywhere and maybe not even leave the station, but it’s still a kick to the gut every time it crashes.

Perhaps it stems from being an only child. Sure, he’s had a lifetime of being doted on by his parents, but there’s always been (and probably always will be) the nagging feeling of an independence that doesn’t feel so empowering, but more like a necessity because he knows there’s nobody else to fall back on. 

Loneliness had begun to consume him as he stood by watching his closest friends date, fall in love, and get engaged. It’s never really fun to feel left behind and abandoned as the people you love most begin to choose the families they’re creating over you.

And perhaps, getting involved with someone like Taeyong had always been inevitable for this kind of reason. 

Johnny knocks back the rest of his beer and watches the lone bit of foam slide right back into the glass. He wishes it were champagne instead.

“John! Order us another round of whiskey shots!” Yuta calls out from their corner of the crowded bar, already halfway drunk just an hour into their after work get together. Johnny meanwhile, stone cold sober, begrudgingly walks up to the bar and does just that. He leaves cash on the bar and carries the tray full of amber colored little liquid tubes back to their table.

He slides back in and downs his own shot, feeling not much of anything other than the burn of the alcohol rushing down his throat. He hates feeling like a party pooper, but his mind is right down the street and inside _Nova,_ not here in this bar. He thinks that perhaps if he can sneak away from this a little early, he may have a chance to see Taeyong for a bit before heading home.

He grabs a fry out of the basket on the center of the table everyone’s sharing and bumps fingers with Mark’s friend, Ten, who Yuta and Mark have been nagging him about for weeks. Ten shoots him a smile and retracts his hand, and goes to take his shot.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with Ten. In fact, quite the opposite. He seems nice, has a handsome face and fit body. But if he wants anything to do with Johnny, he’s run into a roadblock because he’s not Taeyong and he didn’t get to Johnny first unfortunately for him.

“Maybe we should order some more food,” Ten says politely as Yuta begins to get louder, as he tends to do when drunk. He’s currently slapping Mark on the back while going into great detail about various work drama, Mark looking like a scared child in Yuta’s boisterous presence. 

“Probably would help sober him up a little,” Ten adds, tipping his head in Yuta’s direction.

“Good idea. You want anything in particular?” Johnny asks as his eyes scan the menu for something greasy and fried. That usually helps.

Ten shrugs, but takes the lead on asking a waiter for some cheesy nachos and fried pickles. Johnny raises his brow at the pickles, but Ten laughs and reassures him.

“They’re good here! My office is actually upstairs in this building, so I come here a lot after work to relax.”

Yuta takes that as his cue to butt in. “Ah, ya hear that, Johnny? Maybe you should ask Ten to come here with you? You know, just the two of you!”

Johnny wants to hide his face in complete and utter embarrassment. He’s just trying to be nice and friendly with Ten, but doesn’t really know how to explain to everyone at their table that he has no interest in asking the nice Thai guy out because he’s already deeply, deeply infatuated with a particular android mere blocks from where they are currently sitting.

Johnny takes another fry and turns to Ten. “Sorry about Yuta. He’s kind of a pain in the ass if you can’t tell.”

“I don’t mind. Actually… I think if you’d be down for it, I’d love to come here with you one day?”

Johnny continues snacking, chewing thoughtfully and trying to figure out how to tactfully respond, but he blurts out, “Sure, but uh. I’m actually seeing someone, so sorry if you thought-”

“John Suh? You’re _what?_ ” Yuta turns to him incredulously. “I knew you liked someone, but you never made it known that you’re now officially _dating_ them? Who’s the secret boyfriend or girlfriend you’re hiding from us?”

Oh _fuck_.

“It’s not too serious or anything. I didn’t think you’d care so I never brought it up again,” Johnny lies. For as much complaining as he had been doing to Yuta about his miserable bachelor life, he knows that Yuta would be extremely interested. He’d never brought it up again after their initial conversation, and neither had Yuta so he had just assumed it was water under the bridge and forgotten.

“Show us photos now!” Yuta demands and almost knocks over Mark’s untouched whiskey shot.

“Yeah, I don’t think so. Gonna keep it a secret for a bit so you won’t scare them off,” Johnny forces a weak laugh and hopes, _prays_ that they’ll drop the subject.

Which they do thankfully. He makes casual conversation with Ten, who does indeed seem like a really nice guy that Johnny would probably be interested in dating if he didn’t have his little Taeyong problem.

Everyone’s about to leave, pulling out phones to call for Ubers when Johnny gets up to use the restroom. He gets inside, unzips, and is about ready to take a long, deserved alcohol piss before Yuta comes flying in and trapping him against the wall in a position that could only be worse had his dick been out.

“John. What the fuck is going on!”

“The fuck do you mean, dude, I’m trying to piss?”

“Dude, we set this up so you could meet Ten. Why the hell didn’t you tell us you were already tied down? I know you mentioned someone before, but you never brought it up again so I just assumed it fizzled out. Didn’t wanna ask in case it made you feel bad. I mean Ten’s cool, so this kinda makes _me_ feel bad.”

“I told you I didn’t want you to set me up with anyone, so that’s not really my problem.” He shoves Yuta out of his way and heads back to the urinal to relieve himself.

Yuta doesn’t seem bothered watching Johnny pee and continues to goad him over the sound of Johnny’s piss hitting the porcelain bowl. “Bro, who is it? At least tell me as your best friend forever?”

“I just wanna keep it private for a bit, but I’ll tell you once we’re comfortable sharing with other people. I’m trying to keep it low-key this time instead of jumping right in,” Johnny lies swiftly and smoothly.

Yuta seems to accept this answer and stands in front of the urinal next to Johnny. He unzips and suddenly they’re both just pissing together. It’d be weird, but they’ve done this so many times in the past that Johnny’s used to it.

“So, what’d they look like?”

“Blonde.”

“Nice,” Yuta’s voice hisses in praise.

* * *

Johnny runs through the usual motions of his morning routine.

Shower.

Microwavable breakfast.

Teeth.

Suit.

Like any weekday morning, he taps his transit card on the station reader, heads up the stairs to the train, and piles onto public transit for what is probably the millionth time in his life being a native Chicagoan. 

Same iced Americano from the Starbucks across the street from his office and same elevator ride up to the forty-second floor of his high rise building. He swipes in, waves at Maria who’s manning the desk that morning, and heads to his desk. 

He joins his 11 o’clock team meeting in their usual conference room that overlooks the city skyline, the view never ceasing to amaze him really. Afterward, it’s just him and Yukei who stick around, the rest of their team working from home for the day who sign out of the virtual meeting. 

Yukei munches on a bag of chips and cracks open a coke. Soon enough, Yuta and Mark join them for lunch in the same room.

“Dude!” Mark exclaims when he enters the room. “Guess what, guys?”

Yuta tosses Johnny a premade salad from the downstairs cafe, and Johnny hums in appreciation. 

“What’s up, Markie?” Yukei says, mouth still full of chips.

“So I forgot my lunch today, right? But I was just mentioning it in the lobby to Yuta on my way to go to the restroom. “I came back inside and the robot receptionist had something delivered from downstairs based on my internet search history! She must have overheard me! How cool is that?”

Yukei fishes inside his empty chip bag for any remaining crumbs and tosses it aside. “Woah, that’s freaky.”

“Wait, she can look at our internet history?” Yuta says, practically jumping up from the table.

“Chill, dude. I don’t think she’s doing it proactively.”

Johnny pipes up suddenly, interest now piqued at the topic of Maria. “Maybe she’s got a crush on you, Mark? Seems like a really nice thing to do for someone. I assume she put it on the company card too?”

“Yeah, I think she did.”

“Those androids are wild, but I gotta say that’s a little weird, like overstepping boundaries don’t you think?” Yukei asks.

“I think it’s kind of nice,” Johnny retorts back a little too quickly, and hopes it doesn’t come across as defensive.

“It’s a little weird, yeah. Maybe someone should ask management to see just exactly what her full capabilities are so we don’t slip up and do anything we shouldn’t around her.”

“I think you’re overthinking it, guys.”

“Nah, it’s definitely a little too weird for me. I mean, she’s just listening to everything we say? Dude, fuckin’ androids, man. Sometimes they creep me out.”

“She’s never bothered me. Just says hello in the morning. One time she helped me submit a maintenance request for the water filter,” Johnny picks at his salad. It doesn’t taste all that great.

“I don’t know. These things keep cropping up out of nowhere and they’re way too realistic. I mean what’s next, people are going to start dating them?”

Yuta shrugs nonchalantly. “Well, you can already fuck them.”

“That’s different!”

Johnny can’t focus for the remainder of the day, mind too busy replaying the conversation over lunch from earlier. It bothers him because of the adjectives Yukei had used about Maria- creepy, weird. Johnny half asses the rest of the items on his to-do list.

As soon as 5 o’clock hits, he finds himself at Yuta’s desk. Usually it’s the other way around; usually, it’s Yuta bothering him.

“Yuta, I need to talk to you. _Alone_.”

“Now? I’ve got like a million things to do. Can you give me like ten more minutes? Happy hour at _SB_ , just you and me?”

“Yeah, sounds great.” 

Johnny fidgets while waiting and keeps glancing at Yuta over his phone. Fifteen minutes rather than ten pass and Johnny gives him an exaggerated sigh, hoping it’ll effectively nudge his friend into being done. 

“Bro, I’m only going to be like another minute,” Yuta says, glancing up from his monitors and shooting Johnny an annoyed look. “Boss is on my ass to finish this up.”

When he’s finally done, they head outside and walk across the street to one of Johnny’s favorite after work bars in the city. They sit down and order a round of beers and pretzels, Johnny immediately ripping into a pretzel. He needs the carbs and fat for moral support.

“So what’s on your mind?” Yuta says, dunking his own soft pretzel into spicy mustard.

“I’ve gotta talk to you about something. But you have to promise, no swear, to me this doesn’t get repeated. Ever. Because you’re the only person I’m telling, so if anyone else suddenly knows about it, I’ll know it was you who ratted.”

“Of course. You know I’m no snitch, Suh.”

Johnny knows. It’s why he feels he can trust Yuta. But not only is he pretty good at keeping a secret, Yuta’s also a weirdo. Therefore, he’s the best candidate out of all of his friends to be the least judgemental about any of this. 

“Remember how I told you I was kind of seeing someone?”

“Oh hell yeah! You finally gonna pony up and give me the details?”

“I suppose. Though I can’t say that I want to.”

“Why not? She ugly?”

Johnny shakes his head.

“Oh, he’s ugly then?”

Johnny laughs that time and shakes his head no again. “Not ugly. And he’s a he.”

“Blonde.”

“Yeah,” Johnny says teasingly, “Pretty.”

“So you’ve got a cute blonde guy you’re banging? What’s the problem? Can I see him?”

“I don’t have any photos.” 

It’s true because Johnny’s never asked. He felt like it’d be kind of gross and inappropriate to ask for a photo from Taeyong. So instead, he’s always chosen to memorize Taeyong in the moment to the best of his abilities and store it deep within his brain.

“What do you mean you don’t have any photos? He doesn’t have an Insta? No social media? Because, dude, I should not have to explain to you how that is a major red flag.”

“That’s not exactly the problem.”

“Then what is? Quit being cryptic and spit it out! He’s married? Is that it? You’re having an affair with a married man?”

“No! Not at all!”

Johnny takes a rather large gulp of his beer for the liquid courage and looks Yuta dead in the eyes. “He’s an android,” he says flatly.

“He’s a _what?_ ”

“I thought a lot about what you said to me, you know a while back. About relieving stress at one of those clubs in the city. So I did. And then I did again. And again. And now I don’t think I can stop. I don’t think I _want_ to stop.”

Yuta looks at him blankly, not really reacting one way or the other. Johnny takes it as a good sign.

“Woah, I need you to backup. Let me get this straight. You went to bang a sex android after giving me shit for doing it? Then you kept going back to the same android over and over because now you’re like, in love with him or something? Oh my god, I can’t believe it! It’s kind of incredible!”

“That makes two of us, but yeah. As you so eloquently put it, that’s basically what happened.”

“I demand to see this android,” Yuta slams his empty glass on the table. It shakes and the couple next to them turn to look at them, looking irritated. “Where is he?”

“He’s at _Nova_.”

“Oh, yeah, I know it. They have the hottest droids in the city by far. I’ve been there once and to a couple of the neighborhood clubs too, but _Nova_ definitely has the biggest budget. They must be bleeding you dry, man.”

“It’s within my budget.” He doesn’t add the words _‘for now._ ’

“So, what do you say? Wanna introduce me to your new man?”

“What? You want to go to a sex club together?”

“Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing we’ve ever done.”

Johnny sighs and flags their waitress down for the bill. Sticking both of their credit cards into the plastic sleeve, he turns to Yuta and says, “This friendship has no boundaries anymore.”

Johnny and Yuta walk to _Nova_ , not speaking too much on the way there. He feels relieved at having finally gotten his dirty little secret off his chest, and also relieved at Yuta not being freaked out by it.

They walk inside, check their coats, and Johnny asks the front desk if Taeyong is on the floor or booking private sessions for the evening.

“He’s available to book right now actually. Feel free to head on over.”

He repeats the same path he’s done so many times in the past now, Yuta following behind him. They make it to Taeyong’s pod and Yuta claps Johnny on the back as Taeyong looks between the two questioningly.

“ _Nice._ ”

Johnny laughs, and he knows. Yeah, Taeyong’s pretty nice. 

He swipes and rents Taeyong for the entire rest of the night. It doesn’t matter anymore what the price is. He tiptoes out carefully and falls into Johnny’s arms. It feels right and normal, even if they’re in the middle of an android sex club.

“Taeyong, this is my best friend, Yuta.” Johnny gestures towards his friend.

“You're not, you’re not both here for me are you?” Taeyong asks, a little confused. 

Johnny rubs the curve of his waist in reassurance and chuckles. “No! No way! You’re just for me.”

“Oh, yeah. No, I mean no offense, Taeyong, but no. Very nice to meet you though. I hear you’re making this guy here quite happy these days so I had to meet you for myself.”

Taeyong beams up at Johnny. “Well I hope so! Johnny’s the best.”

“He’s an idiot, Taeyong,” Yuta says in jest and it makes Taeyong laugh.

“So what’d you say, my friend? This where we part ways? You go spend time with pretty Taeyong and I’ll go find two of the least expensive female androids to have a menage-a-trois?”

“You can do that?” Johnny never realized that was an option- not that he ever would have done it.

“Dude, you can do anything if the price is right. See you at work!”

They hold hands and watch Yuta leave, Taeyong giggling. “He’s funny. I like him!”

“You wouldn’t say that if you had to spend as much time with him as I do.”

“Don’t say that. You’ll make me jealous of him next.”

“C’mon,” Johnny tugs a little at Taeyong’s arm so they can head into the private room. “Less talking about Yuta, more letting me kiss you.”

Taeyong and Johnny fall quickly into their usual routine, not wanting anything else but to be wrapped up in each other for that moment of time. Johnny strips him of his underwear and lays him out bare on the sofa. He looks at him, _really_ looks at him this time, before he makes any further move.

And god, is he beautiful. It’s unfair, true, because he’s an android and crafted perfectly. There are no acne scars or stray hairs needing to be tweezed or tired eyes. Everything about Taeyong’s beauty is by deliberate design, from the freckle near his lower lip, to his long black eyelashes.

Johnny traces his finger across the bridge of Taeyong’s nose, beautiful and so unlike his own. He runs a finger over Taeyong’s lips, before leaning in to press his own faithfully against them. 

On his way up, he brushes against the small scar near his eye. He’s noticed it before, but didn’t think too much of it. Now, while his entire focus is to drink in Taeyong’s existence, Johnny looks at it more curiously. It seems unusual for an android to have any scarring at all, unless perhaps it’s an accident, and wonders how it could have gotten there.

“How’d you get this?” 

Taeyong seems to shrink underneath him. “My scar? That’s not really a very good memory.”

“How come?” He goes back to stroking Taeyong’s face tenderly. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to though.”

“A client gave it to me about a year ago. One of the engineers tried to fix it, but he wasn’t totally successful as you can see.”

“A client?”

“Yeah,” he sighs. His eyes flutter closed and he continues. “He hit me. He was degrading and awful, the worst client I’ve ever had. He broke a bottle and asked me to cut my own arm with it. He wanted to see what I looked like inside.”

Johnny’s speechless. His stomach lurches. Of course it seems obvious that some sick fucks would frequent a place like this. Perhaps they get off on hurting androids instead of humans. He hates it for Taeyong and wishes he could protect him.

“Did you do it? How do you stay safe when someone’s like that?”

“No, I didn’t do it- that’s why he hit me. We have an emergency alert we can send out to management, so luckily they got here quickly before it could escalate further. Other androids haven’t been as lucky though.”

Johnny frowns.

“That’s the thing, though. Sometimes there’s some really awful people who come in here just out of curiosity. They might want sex, might not. Mostly, they just want to hurt us for fun and they have plenty of money to do so.”

Johnny rubs Taeyong’s shoulders gently. He doesn’t have anything to add, so he lets Taeyong continue.

“At least here though they protect us. I’ve heard at some clubs they don’t care because they don’t think it matters. Why upset a customer when we can just be patched up and replaced? And it doesn’t cause pain or anything. I don’t feel physical pain like you, but it’s still terrible in a way I can’t describe to you.”

Johnny understands. He doesn’t need an explanation.

“Taeyong, I think you’re more human than a lot of other humans, but I feel like that’s not exactly a compliment because there are a lot of terrible humans and I’d prefer not to compare you to them.”

“S’okay. You always kind of have to feel clients out, but I knew with you you’d be a good one.”

Johnny hates that word. Client. Like Johnny knows he’s not Taeyong’s boyfriend, but he doesn’t want to be on the same level as everyone else.

“I’m sorry I made you recall that,” he apologizes and he means it. 

“Apologize with a kiss,” Taeyong says and points a finger to his mouth. Johnny obliges, pushes his tongue into Taeyong’s mouth and nibbles softly at his lower lip.

This time feels different. It feels different in the sounds he pulls out of Taeyong. The way he spread his legs, eats him out thoroughly, then sucks him off before he finally decides enough is enough and enters him. It’s slower and sweeter, and they let one another push and pull, give and take pleasure back and forth. Johnny makes sure Taeyong comes first and follows him afterward, doesn’t let him wiggle out of his arms afterwards as he stays buried deep inside him for as long as possible, wanting, needing to be closer. He wants Taeyong to feel loved.

“I don’t want you to go,” Taeyong whines in his arms and hooks a leg over Johnny’s hip.

“I paid for the rest of the night.”

“I know, but it isn’t long enough.”

The fact is, it’ll never ever be long enough. Spending brief moments in this club with Taeyong will never be satisfying enough. It hurts and it sucks, but the long term pain is too terrifying of an idea to stop playing this game as is. He knows he’s reached that fork in the road, a tipping point so to speak, where you either cut things off to avoid being hurt or make the decision that your feelings are no longer ruled by fear because you just care about the other person too much to stop.

He fucks Taeyong again, this time from behind while Taeyong watches in the mirrored wall in front of them. This time’s a little dirtier, messier. He lets Taeyong repeat phrase after phrase of filth with every thrust inside, command him to fuck him harder and faster, and truly, it’s _never_ felt like this before with anyone else.

When he comes down from his high, Taeyong flips around in his arms and pulls him tightly to his chest. And as much as Johnny loves holding Taeyong and cherishing him, he likes being taken care of too.

Johnny watches as Taeyong’s arms move to his shoulders and gently massage him. He watches his arm shift back and forth with the sweet gesture and wonders how on earth anyone could think what’s inside him matters. 

Taeyong curls up into his side with a couple of hours remaining, and Johnny whips out his phone so they can watch a cheesy movie together, too tired to go another round. It’s about fifty percent movie watching and fifty percent making out like he’s a teenager again, but it’s incredible to feel so alive and in love nonetheless.

“This is the best experience I’ve ever had with someone else, just so you know.”

“Yeah? Really?”

“Really. I can honestly say I’ve never watched a movie with anyone after they were done fucking me,” Taeyong laughs. “Usually, if they finish too quickly they just harass me for a credit.”

Johnny wonders then, if it’s possible for Taeyong to love him too.

At 2 A.M., Johnny walks Taeyong back to his pod, kisses him gently, then leaves _Nova_. He doesn’t shower, just crawls into bed with Taeyong’s scent lingering on his body still. He knows now he’s fucked.

* * *

Johnny grips his pen in between his fingers and grits his teeth.

“Yuta, I thought you were going to request that information from legal?”

“Since when has that ever been my responsibility?”

It’s only halfway through the workday and the two of them are at each other’s throats over a couple of small mistakes that have suddenly led them to a massive fire drill and very upset client.

“Johnny, you always handle legal. Just admit you dropped the ball on this one.”

He knows it’s true, but doesn’t want to admit it. He knows it’s true because he’s exhausted and cranky and running on about two hours of sleep and three americanos. 

“Alright, fine. I fucked up! Cool? Can we please just fix it now?”

Yuta sighs in response and begins typing on his laptop. They’re at least free to openly argue in their shared conference room, Yuta having booked it that morning when he came in and realized he was walking into a shitshow of a mess.

“Maybe you need to chill out on staying up all night on weeknights,” Yuta mutters from behind his screen. 

“Sorry?”

“I think you know what I’m getting at here.”

“Yeah, and I think you need to mind your own fucking business.”

“Too bad for you it is actually my business. Because your personal life is fucking with your professional life, which is fucking with my professional life, which in turn fucks with my personal life! Get your shit together!”

Johnny grows quiet. He chooses not to respond and turns his attention back to the problem at hand with his client.

“Johnny, seriously. I think it’s really time for you to consider a real relationship. You’re thirty two; don’t you want to think about your potential future?”

“That’s actually funny coming from you.”

“I’m not the one who whines about being single. I’m also not the one spending god knows how much of my salary on a prostitute! That stuff is supposed to be for fun. It’s just to get off when you need to, nothing more!”

“I wish you would stop talking about Taeyong like that,” Johnny hisses. Fuck, he’s so pissed right now.

“Johnny, shit! This shit isn’t real! It’s a machine! He’s built to fuck, that’s it! You are infatuated with a humanoid machine that was created in a lab and programmed to say whatever you want to hear so you will pay them money! Where along the line did you lose the plot?”

Johnny narrows his eyes at Yuta. He’s furious, but he’s going to put it aside for now and try to be civil for the sake of his job. “I think we should just get back to work.”

He’s never going to share Taeyong with anyone in his life if this is what it’ll lead to. 

* * *

“Where is Taeyong?”

Johnny’s searched every empty pod and roamed the entire club floor looking for him. Needless to say, he hadn’t found him and now he’s frantic.

“ _Oh_ , _LEON-070195_. He’s out of commission right now. There is another android operating in his place tonight.”

_‘What?’_

Johnny feels his heart pound within the cavern of his chest and tries not to freak out. The phrase ‘out of commission’ doesn’t sit right with him and he’s worried that Taeyong is hurt- or worse.

“What do you mean out of commission? Is he okay?” He tries not to let his voice show any sign of anxiety.

“He’s going through some routine maintenance and should be back to work by the end of the week. Would you like a recommendation for a similar model?”

The host says it nonchalantly, as if it were the most uneventful thing ever. Though, maintenance being routine calms Johnny down a bit, realizing this must be normal for any android model. It’s probably like a check-up or physical exam at the doctor. He makes a mental note to check back in later that week and ask Taeyong about it just to make sure he’s okay.

Johnny shakes his head. “No thanks. I’ll wait.”

And so he does.

He waits until Friday to try his luck again, and this time things pan out. Taeyong is once again inside his pod and completely available, looking alive and safe and adorable as he always does. Johnny doesn’t waste a second to get him out of there and swipes. Another line item on his credit card he knows, but so worth it.

Neither says anything. They just hold hands and walk over to their private room. Johnny immediately pulls Taeyong into his chest once they’re alone, and rests his chin on top of Taeyong’s soft hair.

“Johnny,” Taeyong says and immediately cradles himself deeper into Johnny’s muscled abdomen.

“Hey,” Johnny starts with a tone as soft as butter. “I was worried about you. I tried to come see you earlier this week, but you weren’t here. They said you were in for maintenance. You okay?”

“Not really.”

“What? What do you mean not really?”

“I think I’m about to be retired.”

Taeyong says it flatly. Johnny feels his heart rate elevate, feels so frantic at hearing that.

“ _What?_ ”

“Yeah.” Taeyong pulls himself from Johnny’s chest and leans his head back to look at Johnny. “I’m not bringing in business like I used to. Maintenance is routine, but I overheard the last engineer who inspected me say something about potential permanent decommission.”

Johnny doesn’t know what to say. So he doesn’t say anything this time.

“I’m so scared. I don’t want to be decommissioned! I want to keep going; I want to see you again! I want to live too!”

Johnny’s mouth feels dry and as though he’s forgotten how to speak. “You won’t be,” he says firmly and clutches Taeyong tighter in his hold. Even if he’s scared, he’s going to be strong for Taeyong. Going to give him confidence that things will be okay, even when everything feels like it’s falling apart around you because that’s what you do when you care about someone. 

“How do you know? What can we do?”

“I’m not going to let you be decommissioned. Ever.”

“You can’t promise that!”

Taeyong doesn’t cry. And it scares Johnny a little that he’s already seemingly accepted his fate, because Johnny knows that if he has to kidnap Taeyong out of here himself, he’d do it in an instant.

It doesn’t feel right to quickly capitulate from this serious talk, worrying over potential numbered days together, to sex.

But Taeyong wants it, so Johnny obliges. He lets Taeyong undress him, helps him prep, and lets him sink on top of him and ride him until they both reach their climaxes. When Taeyong collapses on top of him afterwards with Johnny’s cock still inside, Johnny clutches him and doesn’t say anything. He focuses on Taeyong’s breathing, no matter its realness. 

They lay in silence, not bringing up anything said previously. Johnny feels Taeyong grow hard again. He pushes Taeyong back, takes his dick into his mouth and blows him while pumping two fingers in and out of Taeyong’s hole, still filled with his come from mere moments ago. He lets his mouth travel back and forth between pleasuring Taeyong’s hole to the angry red tip of his cock, spitting on each and sucking hard. When it becomes too much for Taeyong, he pushes at Johnny’s head, begs him for mercy, to stop and “ _put it inside me already!_ ” Johnny only stops briefly to push Taeyong’s legs apart and sheath himself inside, Taeyong coming after a couple of hard strokes as Johnny peppers kisses across his cheeks. 

This time, Johnny takes control and fucks him missionary style. He almost pulls out, seeing Taeyong’s body hitch at every thrust in overstimulation. Taeyong must sense his hesitation, because he pulls Johnny back, wraps his arms around him tightly and whispers, “Keep going, Johnny. I want you to use me. I _want_ you to come inside me again. Still feels so good like this.”

Johnny takes his time, savoring each and every one of Taeyong’s soft moans as he thrusts into his body further and further, coming after what feels like an eternity wrapped up in Taeyong. 

Taeyong doesn’t release his arms and hitches a leg up over Johnny’s hip, pushing him deeper inside and not letting him move. Johnny can feel his come dripping out, but anytime he begins to shift his body, Taeyong’s ankle grinds deeper into his flesh.

“Is it a problem?” Taeyong asks curiously. “I just wanna stay like this with you.”

Johnny laughs because it’s cute in the way Taeyong asks. Almost innocent, but definitely not. “It’s not a problem, Yong, but I think it’d be more comfortable if we flipped over.”

Taeyong lets himself be maneuvered onto his side, Johnny careful not to slip out as he spoons Taeyong from behind. His hands roam Taeyong’s body, up his soft stomach to his tight nipples, grips and kneads the flesh of his hip before he lets his hand wander to caressing in between Taeyong’s hairless thighs.

“I can come by tomorrow if you’d like?” Johnny says, mouth against Taeyong’s neck. His skin is slightly damp as if to mimic sweat. Johnny pokes his tongue out to taste. Sure enough, it’s not quite like the real thing, because it doesn’t taste salty or musky, but rather a little sweat. 

Taeyong shivers in his arms. “I’d like it a lot.”

Johnny wants to tell him. He wants to lift Taeyong’s chin and turn his face towards his and tell him how he’d be here every single day because he loves him and he’s not going to let anything bad happen to him.

But he doesn’t. Maybe tomorrow will be better. Surely, this can’t be the last time they’ll have together; surely Taeyong is just over exaggerating. 

* * *

Sometimes, something fairly minor will happen one morning and you won’t really think anything of it until a series of bad things begin to happen throughout the day. But then, there are days when you just _know_ shit’s about to be fucked up. Johnny knows he’s now Murphy’s Law’s latest victim when he wakes up that morning to a power outage in his entire apartment building because someone used a hair dryer while running every single other electrical device in their unit. He knows when his train gets stuck over the Chicago river for thirty minutes due to signal problems, prompting a young girl to cry the entire time thinking the train is about to fall off the tracks and into the water. It’s in the way his boss yells at him over a mistake someone else made and the way his lunch order comes incorrect. Medium burger, no ketchup, side salad instead of fries. Johnny _hates_ ketchup, and he’s trying to eat more vegetables, less fried carbs.

None of those things really matter though, because the worst is yet to come.

Johnny (having ditched work approximately thirty minutes early through a somewhat elaborate lie about helping his mom at the doctor) practically sprints into _Nova_ , frantically looking for Taeyong and not finding any evidence of his existence.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, sir. LEON-070195 has been taken out of service. He is no longer employed at Nova.”

Johnny hears the words come out of her mouth, but his brain is having a hard time registering them.

“What do you mean ‘ _out of service_ ’? No longer employed, like did you give him to another club?”

“Sir, please. I can’t disclose confidential information regarding our androids.”

“Well you just said he’s not your android anymore!” Johnny tries not to raise his voice. He doesn’t think he’s shouting, but maybe he’s shouting by the way the club host practically flinched.

She looks back at him now unbothered. She straightens the collar of her top and looks at him. “It’s against club policy to disclose confidential information about previous or current employees. Please, you may rent the services of another LEON or KATY or I will need to ask you to leave.”

“Is he in the back?”

She’s not intimidated but neither is he. He tries to peer behind her for any semi-ajar door, a clue left out.

“The LEON-070195 model has been set to be retired for some time. He is an outdated android with outdated hardware, and needed to be removed from the lineup in order to make room for an improved product for our customers to enjoy.”

“He is not a _product_! He is a person!”

“This can happen when customers get too attached to certain androids, but I assure you, there are others that are even better. If you have visual or personality preferences based on LEON-070195, I am happy to match you with a similar, upgraded android. Please keep in mind, androids are simply just that. Androids. They are not human, no matter how good they are at mimicking one.”

“I don’t want an upgraded version; the one you had before was just fine.” Johnny ignores the last comment, not quite ready to debate personhood of an android with another android right now. He doesn’t need a wikipedia article or an instruction manual to understand, he just knows. 

“I’m very sorry. If you do not wish to leverage our current product offering, then I’ll have to ask you to leave. We are more than happy to welcome you back whenever you’re ready to try something new.”

“Is there anyone I can talk to about him instead of you?” Johnny almost snaps at her and asks if there’s anyone human he can talk to, but it feels a little wrong to judge her rigidity based on being an android, when all he wants more than anything right now is one very specific android.

“I’m afraid not. Now please,” she gestures towards the door, but Johnny doesn’t want to give up so easily. He also doesn’t want her to call over a bouncer to escort him out permanently and fuck up his chances of ever really seeing Taeyong again.

“I’ll take a look at what you have,” he forces out. 

“Wonderful. Have a splendid time!”

Johnny wonders if perhaps another one of the androids will be able to tell him something, so he heads to the private rooms where the other male models are housed. He sees Taeyong’s old pod, but when he touches it, he’s met with nothing. No name, no description, no $4 per hour charge notification.

He turns to the pod station across from Taeyong’s, because whoever is in there should have seen where Taeyong went. He doesn’t bother to check the hourly rate, just requests one minute, swipes his card, and practically yanks the android out himself.

“Hello! My name is Doyoung-”

“Yeah, nice to meet you, but I actually just want to know what’s happened to Taeyong.”

“Taeyong?”

“Yes, Taeyong,” Johnny says, trying not to let his irritation seep through his voice.

“Rumor mill says he’s gone. Probably not coming back and most likely being used for spare parts.”

“I more so wanted to know if you saw him leave?”

“No? Now are you gonna fuck me or what? This is the weirdest interaction I’ve probably had all year, like why are you even asking me about another android if you rented me?” The android named Doyoung wiggles out of Johnny’s grip and pulls back. Johnny thinks he might get slapped, but luckily it turns out Doyoung’s all bark and no bite.

“You’re not helpful. Get back in the pod.” Johnny orders. Doyoung’s wrist pings, just like how Taeyong’s did and he looks back at Johnny as though he’s deeply offended, having caught on that he was only rented for a brief moment to be interrogated. 

“You’re a dick!” he calls back to Johnny before stepping back inside his chamber and a second before the plexiglass goes up to muffle his voice.

Johnny doesn’t care. He goes to the next android and does the same thing. This one is smaller, almost cute, and probably appeals to a younger crowd. Johnny feels a little gross at that.

“Hi, I’m Ha-”

“Cool, but did you see what happened to Taeyong recently? Did he get taken somewhere?”

The android doesn’t respond, and Johnny turns his head to see Doyoung glaring in their direction. He wonders if they can communicate telepathically or something, because this one seems to be more focused on watching Doyoung than answering Johnny’s questions.

Johnny sighs. “Look, I’m not doing this to be a dick, I promise. I- I’m just really worried about Taeyong because they told me up at the front that he’s not here anymore? Can you please, _please_ just tell me if you know where he is?” He doesn’t care. He’ll beg if he has to.

Finally, the android stops watching Doyoung and turns his attention to Johnny. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know. Taeyong’s been worried about it for awhile so it’s natural it’d happen.”

Johnny watches him hop back into his pod too, before he repeats the process with every single male android who’s still in the room. He swipes, he asks about Taeyong, and he comes to a dead end each time. All of these guys probably think he’s lost his stupid little human mind.

Johnny doesn’t even respond to the same host from before when she thanks him for his business and leaves the club dejectedly. 

Johnny makes it about a block before he’s blinking away tears. He doesn’t know what else to do, so he calls Yuta and practically begs him to let him come over. And as much as he’d prefer to be upset and messy alone, being alone does not seem like a very good idea right now and Yuta’s place is within a reasonable walking distance. He doesn’t think he can manage being in an Uber or on public transit with other people right now. 

Luckily, Yuta’s at home. He reminds Johnny of his apartment’s buzzer code and says to come right on up. Johnny doesn’t proactively elaborate what he’s calling about and Yuta doesn’t ask questions. 

It’s dark enough now and there’s not too many people around him, so Johnny whips out his phone and glances at his reflection in the front camera.

_‘I look like a fucking mess. And I feel like one too.’_

He’s still too shell shocked to fully cry, but the tears are an ever present sensation right behind his eyes. He knows the lingering, dreadful feeling of your throat half closed in an impending sob. How the second you feel comfortable enough, it comes raging out and then suddenly you can’t stop.

He makes it to his best friend’s building, punches in the code, and heads up the couple of flights of stairs to Yuta’s unit, the door buzzer still ringing like a grenade in his ears.

Yuta greets him at the door with a cautious smile and open bottle of beer. 

“Thanks,” Johnny says, taking the bottle and heading inside. And he means it. He’s appreciative of Yuta in this moment, because he’s the only person he knew he could trust regarding Taeyong when he’d originally come clean about it. He’s the only person he’ll trust to see him halfway out of his mind over Taeyong too right now. 

He flops on Yuta’s sofa and takes a small sip of beer. It doesn’t taste like anything on his tongue.

“So, wanna tell me what’s up?” Yuta asks, sitting down next to him hesitantly on the sofa.

It’s the simplest of questions that always seem to do it and suddenly Johnny’s hard exterior he’s been braving since thirty minutes ago crumbles. He can’t control the flow of hot tears against his cheeks nor the way his body slumps over and suddenly he thinks he might be sick. 

Yuta immediately comes to his aid, taking the beer out of his hands so Johnny won’t accidentally drop it and shatter glass on the wood floor. He rubs a hand over Johnny’s back and pulls him in for a side hug. 

“I have a feeling I know what this is about, but you don’t have to talk about if you don’t want to. I just want you to know that I’m here for you, dude.”

“It’s Taeyong.”

Yuta nods but doesn’t speak and Johnny’s grateful as his friend just lets him word vomit all over creation in front of him. He manages to get out the pertinent details. That Taeyong’s gone. Taeyong’s decommissioned. Taeyong’s beautiful body he loves and adores is probably lying in a recycling bin somewhere while he’s still here, undeserving of this existence and grieving like someone’s cut a limb off.

By the time he’s done, he feels like he’s hyperventilating. Or maybe it’s a panic attack. One of the two. 

“Johnny,” Yuta stands up. “I’m just gonna go make up my guest bed, okay? You should stay here for the night I think.” Johnny’s relieved at that because he doesn’t think there’s any way he could possibly go back outside into the night and face the real world. Somehow, being in Yuta’s apartment is a sliver of a safe haven.

Johnny nods and sits. Sits and waits and disassociates as Yuta tidies his guest bedroom. It takes him a bit, just because he’s Yuta, and therefore Johnny understands that territory comes with Yuta needing to clean up about a dozen empty soda cans for recycling.

He follows him into the guest room, not even protesting as Yuta helps him out of most of his clothes, gives him a fresh washcloth for his face, and places a bottle of water on the bedside table.

“You’ll feel like shit tonight. And probably tomorrow. Probably for a while, but you’ll get through this. And I’ll be with you whenever you need me so get some rest.”

Johnny knows he will be eternally grateful for having a friend like Yuta.

Yuta is kind enough to let Johnny stay for the weekend. They don’t talk about Taeyong; it’s too fresh and raw and painful to even acknowledge at this point. They spend Saturday and most of Sunday doing things they’ve always enjoyed doing together- playing video games (Yuta screaming when Johnny destroys him each and every time in MarioKart), watching terrible reality television on Hulu, and complaining about work.

In the midst of it all, Johnny realizes how nice this is just spending some time with his best friend. It’s been awhile since the two of them have hung out together one-on-one outside of the brief after work bar trip when Johnny had told him about Taeyong. He supposes that with all the time he’d been spending with Taeyong, he’d neglected his friends. He’s ashamed to realize it, because he’s been on the flipside of that neglect before from friends and their significant others and he hates it. 

Yuta offers him to stay longer, but Johnny doesn’t want to burden him, so he makes the trek back to his apartment later that evening. It’s about a fifteen minute Uber ride, and he gives the guy a solid five star rating after he gets out since they’d kept the casual chit chat to a bare minimum.

Johnny toes off his shoes at the door. It’s quiet and empty, just how it always is. But it doesn’t even feel right, being inside of his own apartment anymore. Nothing really does feel right anymore.

* * *

Johnny takes a week off from work and Yuta promises to cover for him, not to worry about anything. 

By the time the next Monday rolls around, he texts his boss and tells her he needs another week. She doesn’t question him, just tells him to rest up and he’s grateful for it. 

The first week had gone by in a blur, mostly filled with sleeping and binge watching television like this is his new job. But now- it’s hard even getting through the day. It feels damn near impossible when there’s nothing left to look forward to and so he wonders if this is what it’s like to be depressed. To be numb and simply exist, it’s not so fun Johnny thinks.

Generally, Johnny keeps his place tidy- within reason. He’s not messy like Yuta, but he’s not a neat freak either. At this point though, he practically doesn’t even recognize his apartment because it looks like a tornado’s gone off inside of it. He forces himself to get a trash bag and just dump all of the takeout containers and soda cans inside of it so he can head downstairs and haul it into the dumpster in the alley.

The next day, his mom calls and he thinks she must be able to sense he’s not quite like himself, because he knows she’s trying to pull information out of him. He responds to her every question or new update in her life with a quick “okay,” or “yeah,” or “cool.” He hopes he doesn’t worry her, but it’s not enough to motivate him to pretend like he’s okay either. 

It’s almost funny, Johnny thinks. He was never even dating Taeyong. Their relationship never extended beyond anything more than an exchange of sex for money within the confines of a business. And yet, he’s never been so fucking _sad_ before in his life whenever one of his other relationships didn’t pan out.

Yuta texts him frequently just to check-in, but not enough to be terribly bothersome and Johnny appreciates the support. Mostly, he appreciates that Yuta is at the very least empathetic to the situation, regardless of if he finds it ridiculous or not. It’s not like he’ll tell Johnny. He knows when to push just enough, but never deliberately provokes or upsets him about something serious.

By the third week, his manager agrees to let him work from home for ‘as long as he needs to’. He knows he can’t continue to just take time off, and her patience isn’t going to extend indefinitely, but he thinks she deserves a boss of the year award at this rate. Even still, he finds it incredibly difficult to focus or pay attention. Each morning, he rolls over and grabs his laptop from the floor and powers through as much as he possibly can from bed. 

He knows he’s slipping and thinks maybe he’d just be better off being fired anyway. He moves another meeting with a client and turns on Netflix instead.

Usually on Sundays, he drives to his parents house out in the suburbs and eats dinner with them, but obviously the ability to face other people (his family, coworkers, strangers) is practically non-existent. It’s weird, the mixture of shame and guilt you feel when you get to this point. The solution seems simple, but it never is and all you wind up doing is circling the drain in an ugly repeat pattern of motions you grow comfortable with. 

His mother shows up at his apartment one day without warning, which is truly an oddity because she hates driving into the city and avoids it at all costs. She seems surprised and upset to see Johnny like this, but doesn’t fight him when he just tells her he’s been feeling ill. 

He stops working out. Starts eating one takeout meal per day. Stops finding joy in things he used to like screwing around playing video games or watching his favorite shows. 

When he reaches the month long anniversary of his new found misery and extremely Taeyongless life, Yuta calls him. Yuta never calls him. 

“Come into work, Johnny. _Please,_ ” Yuta all but begs him.

Johnny asks why. Yuta tells him everyone misses him. He knows he’s worrying them, but he doesn’t feel like explaining anything to anyone. And even if they don’t ask, they’ll constantly question it, will constantly talk about it behind his back. 

What’s he supposed to say- _I’m depressed now because I love an android I was paying to fuck who has been dumped somewhere and I don’t know where he is and will likely never know?_

He doesn’t want to go; he hates the very idea of going back to the office. But he figures perhaps it’s time to force some normalcy back into his everyday routine, because perhaps he’s reached the limit of his desire to wallow in his own misery.

Johnny tells Yuta, “Okay, sure. I’ll come back,” and hangs up. 

The next day, Johnny forces himself to get out of bed and get dressed. It’s probably the first time in about a month since he’s worn real clothes. He puts in his airpods and listens to his old commuting playlist with some of his favorite songs that he hadn’t listened to since he’d last gone into work. Right before his stop, Johnny puts in a mobile order for his usual iced americano and picks it up on his way in. It’s good, in an old familiar sort of way. Similar to sniffing a perfume that reminds you of a time when you were younger.

Yuta’s waiting for him outside, leaning against the bus stop awning on the corner of the street.

“Hey,” he says gently as Johnny approaches. Johnny doesn’t know if it’s because he doesn’t care about anything anymore or if the train running on the tracks right above them is just loud, but he doesn’t even register Yuta speaking to him.

Yuta doesn’t let his silence bother him though and takes Johnny arm in arm. They walk into the building together and head up to the forty-second floor of the highrise as usual. Johnny exits and pulls his keycard out of his back pocket from muscle memory so he can swipe and enter. 

Yuta doesn’t follow behind him, and Johnny glances back questioningly as he holds the door open with his foot.

“Just gonna run to the restroom out in the hall real quick. I’ll see you at your cube in a few minutes?”

Johnny shrugs and heads inside. He grabs a mint from the front desk like he always does and pops it into his mouth on his way to where the rest of his team sits. He feels like perhaps he should be nervous, just showing up out of the blue after all this time, but oddly enough he isn’t now that he’s actually here. 

“Hello and good morning!”

Johnny hears the voice call out to him from the lobby. It’s familiar and it stops him dead in his tracks. He doesn’t turn back out of sheer terror that he’s hearing things now. 

“I _said_ good morning! Kinda rude not to say anything back?”

Johnny’s heart drops in his chest as he turns to see a familiar face sitting behind the computer screen at the desk. Only this time, he’s brunette rather than blonde.

“I’m Taeyong, the new receptionist. But I suppose you already knew that.” This brown haired Taeyong _winks_ at him.

Johnny grips his americano so hard he thinks it might squeeze out of the top. This has to be a joke. Or a freak coincidence that there are multiple Taeyong models running around the city of Chicago just to fuck with him, but only one he actually wants back. It’s entirely plausible; android faces are known to be reused. 

Johnny doesn’t say anything. He just observes.

Taeyong stands up.

Same height, same build, same face. Different hair.

“What? Don’t look at me like that!” Taeyong says with a bit of a frown. “Don’t act like you’ve forgotten who I am, Johnny!”

Johnny feels like his face is on fire for a solid minute, too afraid to say anything for fear this isn’t real. But it is real. It’s real when Taeyong walks out from behind the reception desk and stands on his tiptoes to hug him just as he always used to, only this time, Johnny’s seeing him fully clothed for once.

He thinks how nice Taeyong looks in his pair of black jeans and sweater. 

When he still doesn’t say anything back, Taeyong begins to pout. Johnny hates looking at him like this, those large doe eyes that are impossibly dark and sad right now. This is all very weird and sudden, but he can’t help how much he wants to take his hands and caress Taeyong’s face like he’s done a million times before, to soothe out the worry from his perfect, wrinkle-free skin. 

“Is something the matter? Aren’t you happy to see me?”

Johnny finally breaks, pushes any feelings of being shell shocked at having something he loves ripped away from him and then suddenly returned out of thin air. 

“Oh, Taeyong, of course I’m happy to see you. I’m _always_ happy to see you.”

He notices Yuta peering in through the glass doors and wants so badly to give him the middle finger. It’s all too coincidental, and somehow Johnny just knows he’s behind this. But right now, to hell if anyone walks in on Johnny kissing the receptionist, because he simply doesn’t care.

So he swoops down and does just that, Taeyong kissing him back as if it’s the most natural thing in the world like he always had before.

Johnny suddenly remembers and looks for the telltale scar on Taeyong’s face.

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it to the end, then congratulations! I had a lot of inspiration for this and the concept of AI is really fascinating to me. Who knows- perhaps this is what we have in store for the future (I wouldn’t be mad?)
> 
> I hate unhappy endings so please be comforted that this IS a happy ending <3 (though I know it’s a little ambiguous… it felt like the right spot to leave it & am adding this to a series for now) :) Any kudos/comments/etc are always appreciated.
> 
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/mangoanjou)


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